Matrix: Upgraded
by Classic Cowboy
Summary: (MatrixKim Possible crossover) sequel to Matrix: Resurrections! A new war is brewing as a demon from the past returns. Can Kim and Ron's blooming relationship survive temptation and dark revelations? Kim and Ron pairing {COMPLETE}
1. Chapter 1: Six Months Later

                                                                                1

                                                                                0                          

                                                                                2                                                              

                                                                                1                                                  

                                                                                2              

                                                                                0

                                                                                0                          

                                                                                2                                                              

                                                                                1                                                  

                                                                                2              

                                                                                2

                                                                                0                          

                                                                                2                                                              

                                                                                1                                                  

                                                                                2              

                                                                                2              

1010000101001201201020201210201110101**MATRIX**10012021021221022201210200020201

100110122202201002011001010110201101**UPGRADED**100100202000202102001200102220

Josh Mankey ran across one of the many skyscrapers that made the skyline of Los Angeles California before leaping a fifty-foot gap between two buildings with a flip-jump. To say he enjoyed the perks of being freed in the Matrix would be an understatement. "I love this place!" Josh laughed as he looked over the city. "If only Kim …" He sighed. 

Why did Morpheus and the Nebuchadnezzar II have to be the ones to free his on again off again girlfriend Kim Possible from the Matrix? Who knows the fun Josh could have had teaching Kim how things worked in the Matrix. Josh chuckled at the thought. 

He then shook his head. The girl always had an eye for popular and powerful guys, and now it was all over the fleet that the newly freed Kim Possible was now the lover to the One. Everyone from Middleton who knew anything of Kim would realize she'd go straight for the powerhouse. And who would have thought that the One would end up being Ron Stoppable, the biggest goofball Josh had the misfortune of ever meeting. 

"Humph, you'd think the One would be someone who actually could use the power for something other then losing his own pants in mid-fight, unlike this goofball," Josh half complained half laughed. 

Josh's cell phone suddenly started ringing, bringing the teenager out of his thoughts. "Talk to me," Josh said smoothly, answering the phone.

"Ok, cutie," Livewire, the Operator of the Leviticus, the ship Josh served on, spoke flirtily from the other line, "The Cap said we're about to head back to Neo Zion so it's time to come out. You've got an exit four blocks east of your current location, apartment 13C." 

"Alright, Live, on the way," He said putting away his cell and starting to make his way toward the exit, not knowing he was being watched closely.  

1012020222101020122012010210121012

"Apartment 13C," Josh read the door before opening door and walked casually toward the ringing black phone on the wall. 

"Hello, Monkey, it has been … some time," a sinister voice called from the shadows before he could touch the phone. 

"Huh? Who's there?" Josh asked going on the defensive. 

"Just an old friend," the voice spoke. "But then again, we never were really friends. You only really thought of me as a stepping stone to get in KP's cargo pants." 

"Stoppable? Is that you?" Josh smiled, somewhat relieved.

"Yes … and no," the person said as he walked out of the shadows, revealing a man in an Agent's three-piece suit. He was a middle-aged man, with dark, dirty blonde hair slicked back, and his eyes were hidden behind dark rectangular sunglasses. "You could say I'm something more."

"Who-" Josh started to ask, but was cut off by the man stabbing his fingers into his chest. 

"I am Mr. Stoppable," Smith smiled evilly as Josh was quickly enveloped in bubbly black liquid. "But now I'm also you, Mr. Mankey." A moment later Josh was replaced by an exact copy of Smith. 

"Indeed you are," Smith-Josh nodded, before Smith walked up to adjust his coat and tie. "Shall we try again?"

"Yes we shall." Smith said as Smith-Josh smirked and reached for the ringing phone. 

10121012012101021012010210121012121012

Ron opened his eyes and jumped to a seated position, sweat covering his face. "Josh?" he rubbed his face and brushed his slightly shaggy blond bangs from his face. "Freaky dreams … gotta love them huh, KP?" He asked looking over to the other side of his queen-sized bed, only to find it half-made and empty. "Kim?" 

"Oh boy …" he sighed, narrowing his eyes slightly. 

Ron then quickly climbed out of bed and got dressed. He exited his and Kim's quarters and made his way to the central chamber of the Nebuchadnezzar II. "Kim's in trouble," Ron stated making Link, who was seated at the operator station, jump nearly out of his chair. 

"Jesus Christ!" Link cried, turning to glare at the teen, "You scared the shit out of me!" 

"Sorry, but like I said, Kim's in trouble," Ron stated, walking over to his girlfriend Kim Possible's chair. He gently ran his fingers through her short red hair that came down to the mid of her neck. 

"How did you … nevermind, I know, I forget the all mighty 'Jedi Mind Trick'," Link smirked, "She's fighting some guy with a corrupted code at Camp Wannaweep."

"Camp W-Wannaweep?" Ron visibly flinched, before shaking it off. "Ok, I'm going in."

121201201010212010222210120102101201012201

Kim cartwheeled away from the freakish half-man, half-fish mutant villain known as Gill. "Too fast for you, fish face?" Kim asked, dodging another wad of slime spit from the mutant's mouth. "Now why don't you be a good little freak and let those hikers go?" she asked, nodding toward the group of teenagers slimed to various trees. 

"Sorry, but they aren't going anywhere and neither are you!" Gill growled, spitting at Kim again, this time attaching Kim's arm to a tree with the ooze. 

Kim pulled and tugged on her arm, but it was firmly attached. Gill then spit another wad of slime on her other hand attaching it over her arm, "Hmm, is that real leather?" Gill asked reaching toward Kim's trench coat and skintight leather top. 

"Touch me, and that fin will never touch anything else ever again …" Kim hissed, before kicking the fishman in the gut, sending him spiraling backwards. 

"Feisty as ever, huh Kimmie?" Gill chuckled. "If you won't keep that pretty mouth shut, my slime will do it for you." 

Gill then fired another wad of slime toward the girl but -unlike the others- this one stopped in mid air. 

"What the?" Gill blanched as the slime shot back at neck break speed, and hit the mutant square in the face. 

He clawed the slime from his face. "What? Who did that?" He asked angrily looking up.

"Hey slime boy, up here," a voice called from above him. Gill glanced up and gawked at Ron who was 'standing' in the air above him, with his arms folded across his chest, and his trench coat dramatically blowing behind him. 

Ron slowly lowered to the ground and Gill could see his own shocked expression in Ron's dark sunglasses. 

"You always get better things then me!" Gill whined, "First cheerleaders all over you, now cooler powers? It's just not fair!"  

Ron rolled his eyes, "Trust me, these cooler powers' price tag is a bit too much for me anyway, if I could give them to you, I would," He then held out his hand, "Might as well get rid of one of the trouble makers, what do you say, KP?"

"Ron! Don't kill him!" Kim gasped, watching as Gill turned a darker shade of green and dropped to the ground crying out in pain. 

Kim then looked away. Even with her sunglasses the bright flash that came from Gill was blinding. "Ron … how …" she started, turning back to face him, but her eyes widened at the sight before her. 

Ron was kneeling beside an unconscious teenaged human boy around Ron's age, and was wrapping his trench coat around his limp shoulders.  

"He might still be trouble," Ron said turning to the still tied up Kim, "But at least be able spit up on people like he used to."

"You never cease to amaze me, Ron," Kim sighed before smiling sheepishly. "Think you can get me loose now?"

"You ran off and left me," Ron said smugly, crossing his arms across his chest.   

"But you were so cute sleeping there, I couldn't bear to disturb you …" Kim explained over-dramatically, "so please get me off the tree." 

"Nope, not going to do it," Ron said, turning his back on his girlfriend. 

"Please, Ron," Kim whined, giving a few fake sniffles.  

"No." Ron said flatly, not looking back, "And it won't work."

"I thought you loved me …" Kim whimpered sadly. 

"Oh come on you know I … oh I am so stupid …" Ron sighed, spinning around to see Kim's big green eyes and her lower lip stuck out in her trademark 'puppy dog pout'. "I so hate that pout …"

Ron sighed louder and walked over to her. Kim watched in awe as Ron's hands passed through the slime that bound her and he pulled her hands free as if the slime wasn't there. "That wasn't far …" Ron pouted himself as his glasses slid down his nose.   

"All's far in love and war, Babe," Kim said, pushing Ron's sunglasses back on his face with her forefinger. "Besides …" She purred, leaning against him, "I'll just have to make it up to you later tonight, hmm?" 

"Think you can get the hostages freed on your own, KP?" Ron asked, looking toward the unconscious hikers.

"Yeah I can, but why can't you free them?" Kim asked looking up to her boyfriend, "You probably could get them loose easier then me …"

"I've gotta go, Kim," Ron said seriously, "I've … got to meet someone to ask a few questions."

"Oh … ok, can I come with?" Kim looking away, before spinning back around with a smile. "Ron?" She asked now noticing she was alone. 

"Is it still bothering you, Ron?" Kim asked sadly. 

10212012101211211021201022110121010121201021021201

"Good morning, Link," Morpheus said, walking into the chamber. 

"Good morning sir," Link replied, not taking his eyes off the monitors. 

"Those two are off to an early start, did they get a call from Wade again?" Morpheus asked pulling up a chair beside Link. 

"Kim did, she didn't want to wake up Ron, so she went it alone," Link explained, "But you know Ron …"

"Went in short while later when she found herself in danger," Morpheus nodded, "His senses are astounding, he's already surpassed Neo easily."  

"Yeah, oh that's Kim," Link said, punching in a few commands, "I'll put it on speaker … Operator?"

"Hey, this is Angel. Can I get an exit somewhere in the area maybe?" Kim's voice sounded, referring to herself by the codename Ron and Morpheus gave her. 

"Roger that, Angel. old farm house, a third of a mile north by north east, can't miss it," Link replied. 

"Must I remind you the dangers of going into the Matrix alone, Angel?" Morpheus scolded. 

"So not the drama, Morph … err … Sir," Kim replied confidently. "Besides Ron …uh Neo destroyed the Agents, remember?"

"There are other dangers in the Matrix besides the Agents, you realize."  Morpheus nodded. 

"Speaking of R-Neo, where is he now?" Kim asked. 

"Hold on, I'm looking …" Link said, as he typed at the controls, "He's over New York doing his Superman Thing." 

1201021201210102120121102120102120122012102

The clouds parted as Ron soared over New York City. He finally spotted the apartment building he was looking for and quickly brought himself down to its rooftop. 

Ron made his way down into the building and down a long graffiti covered hallway. He then took a deep breath and knocked on the door. 

"Hey, Ron," Wade said as he opened the door, "Mom's been expecting you." 

Ron walked in and looked over to the coffee table where Seraph and Sati were playing chess, "Ronnie boy, good to see you again, kid!" The Oracle said cheerfully walking into the kitchen, "You're late, I figured you'd come right after what Merve told you, but no you have to be a man and try to ignore the fact that you're scared almost to the point of shitting your pants."  

Oracle waved it off, and signaled for him to come into the kitchen, "Have a seat, while I pull the cookies out of the oven." 

"Cookies?" Ron asked, perking up. 

"Chocolate chip, peanut butter, and raisins," Oracle chimed, "your favorite!"  

Ron eyed the plate of cookies hungrily. He hadn't realized until that moment how ravenous he was.

"Ok, dig in," Oracle smiled, placing a plate of cookies in front of Ron, barely getting her hands out of the way, "Eat the cookies, kid, not me!" 

Ron had the decency to look abashed. "Fowwy" he mumbled around a mouthful of cookie.

"Ok, now are you going to ask me your questions?" Oracle asked, sitting down across from the boy and lighting a cigarette. 

"Why should I ask?" Ron asked after swallowing a cookie whole. "You already know what I'm going to ask right?"

"Humor me." 

"Merovingian told me six months ago, when we met for the second time," Ron said nervously. "He said that I would be gone in seven months, just like the others. Am I going to d-die soon? As in the … next month?"

"Well, Kiddo, you humans are really hard to predict …" Oracle said, avoiding eye contact with the worried teen.  

"You've known everything else … you must know …" Ron gulped. "Please, I don't care if it's bad news, I want to be ready."

"Ronald, no one is promised another day, not even me," Oracle said taking his hand. 

"I'm going to die in a month … aren't I?" Ron gulped, tears appearing at the corners of his eyes. 

"No …" She said before taking a really deep breath, "Three weeks, two days, five hours, six minutes … seven seconds." 

"I wish you didn't tell me that …" Ron said, placing his face in his hands, feeling very ill at the moment. 

"I'm sorry, Ron, but you asked," Oracle smiled weakly, "But to tell you the truth you are meant to know, probably one of the few people in this world that really are. You've got a hard battle to fight before your time's up. One you have to win not with your powers, but with words." 

"Kim? What's going to happen to Kim?" Ron asked, looking up, ignoring her words. "Is she going to be ok?"

"Kimberly? Well … your death's going to hurt her horribly, damn near break her," Oracle informed, "But she'll live. Not long after your passing, she'll get back with the love of her life, have a kid, live to be a grandma, and die a happy, content, fulfilled woman."  

"Oh …" Ron said, a small sad smile on his lips, "If she's happy then it's all good …" He said, sticking his chest out slightly.

"You humans are funny creatures indeed," Oracle mused, "There aren't any other creatures on the face of the earth past or present that make such bonds as you humans do. Sure there are exceptions, lots of them even, but when it comes to true absolute love, it's there from the start and nothing can stand in its way, not even death. Kim loves you, Ron, with everything she's got. Remember that, don't let what anyone says to you, or even do to you make you second-guess that. And if she has to she'd face the devil himself to stay by your side. That says a lot. That says a lot about both of you."    

Ron gave her a weak nod before standing up from the table. "I am so sorry, I wish just once to be able to give you good news, but … I guess that's how it goes, huh?" She then handed him one last cookie, "Here eat you one more, and then go home to your sweetheart. After a good afternoon nap in her arms I'm sure you'll feel right as rain!" 

Ron started to go to the door, when Oracle stopped him one last time, "Ron, for all it's worth, I believe you can make a difference." 

"Thanks …" Ron whispered before leaving the apartment. 

21012101210102120102101210210212012010

Ron's gasped as he woke in the Neb II's broadcast chamber, "What kept you? I was getting worried." he heard Kim from the side, and looked over to see his girlfriend's smiling face. 

"I … it's nothing, nothing important anyway," Ron said forcing a fake smile. 

"Are you sure?" Kim asked, narrowing her eyes. 

"Yeah, just tired, KP," Ron faked a yawn. 

"You've both had a busy morning," Morpheus stated, "It will be a few hours before we reach the surface and the atmospheric recovery plant. Go and rest, because we have a lot of work to do when we get there." 

Kim and Ron nodded and silently made their way to their quarters. 

As soon as they were both inside Ron sealed the hatch, only to turn to a death glare that would have scared an Agent. "Um … what's up, KP?"

"Don't 'what's up, KP' me, Ronald," Kim drilled, stalking closer, her red bangs bouncing with each heavy, menacing step, "Are you going to tell me what's bothering you, or do I have to beat it out of you?"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about …" Ron gulped, feeling as though her green eyes were digging into his own for his secret. 

"We just made a long walk from the broadcast chamber to here, that's a three to four minute walk. And you were dead quiet," Kim pointed out, "You're NEVER quiet that long, especially just out of the Matrix."

Ron didn't say anything but looked away, hoping she'd let up.

"I know you went to the Oracle, but I don't understand why," Kim stated, "Is it because Merovingian's seven month thing?"

Ron snapped his head back to stare at her wide-eyed. "That is it, isn't it?" Kim gulped lightly, the color fading from her cheeks slightly. "Well, what did the Oracle tell you?"

"She said …" Ron gulped, searching for the words, "She said he was full of crap, KP. I'm going to be fine. Funny how we can get all tore up over nothing like that, huh?"

Kim answered by wrapping her arms tightly around him, pulling him into a firm embrace. "You never could lie to me, Ron," She whispered, snuggling into his chest. 

"Guess not, Kimmie," Ron said, hugging her back, letting his fingers intertwine with her hair. He tried to suppress the pang of guilt that was pounding in his chest.

"If what the Merovingian said was true … we have a month left together, right?" Kim whispered, looking up into his eyes. 

"They may be wrong," said Ron confidently, "They're both computer programs, a lot can happen in a months time, right? In a month and a day I will probably just fine, and we'll be sitting here laughing about it!" he said, giving his best goofy smile. 

"Maybe you're right," Kim nodded, blushing slightly when Ron wiped the tear from her cheek, "but … just in case … I'm going to take advantage of every second I have with you … just in case …" she said, her voice lowering till it was just above a whisper, as their faces got closer and closer. 

"Maybe that isn't such a bad idea," Ron whispered back, just before their lips met in what started out as a gentle kiss but quickly turned into one filled with desperation. 

1021202102121102122021202121202120222221021

Deep inside the Machines' City, Zero One Two, six cryogenic tubes, each holding a single human body, were slowly being removed from their containment area. Life support tubing and hoses and wires penetrated the frozen cylinders and were attached to various plugs and ports that adorned the six frozen bodies. All six were damaged in one way or another, some damaged to a point where reanimation would have resulted in immediate death without life support, while others had only minimal, non life-threatening injuries, including one with severely damaged eyes.

_Alpha Reactivation Sequence: Online_

_Alpha Reanimation sequence: online_

_Alpha Life Support system: online_

_Alpha RSI Matrix Upload: Stand By_

_Alpha Unit One: Reanimation Sequence ETC: 21 days 9 hours 12 minutes_

_Alpha Unit Two: Reanimation Sequence ETC: 21 days 6 hours 2 minutes_

_Alpha Unit Three: Reanimation Sequence ETC: 21 days 2 hours 5 minutes_

_Alpha Unit Four: Reanimation Sequence ETC: 20 days 6 hours 14 minutes_

_Alpha Unit Five: Reanimation Sequence ETC: 20 days 1 hours 14 minutes_

_Alpha Unit Six: Reanimation Sequence ETC: 19 days 21 hours 3 minutes_

1201201210121222120121202122210210102102120

Ron jumped slightly in bed but couldn't move, let alone breathe very well. But before he could panic he glanced down and saw two slender arms holding him for all their worth. Kim was trembling slightly under their blankets, but she still held her content smile on her lips from their afternoon 'activities'. Ron leaned forward and laid a gentle kiss on her forehead, "Don't worry, KP," he whispered, holding her sleeping form tight, "As long as I'm able, I'll not leave you." And with that he closed his eyes and joined her in sleep

102012102101212010210**To Be Continued**10102101012102

Disclaimer: Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, and Josh Mankey are owned by Disney. Morpheus, Link, Agent Smith, The Oracle, The Merovingian, Seraph, Sati, The Matrix and all related characters are owned by Warner Brothers


	2. Chapter 2: Fire and Ice

**The ****Kimmatrix****: Matrix Upgraded**

**A Fan Fiction Fusion By**

**Classic Cowboy and ****Turles**

**Chapter 2: Fire and Ice**

"_O, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock. The meat it feeds on."_

William Shakespeare

_Othello Act 3 Scene 3_

**110101100110100111001011011100101010110101**

"Welcome to Jericho." Morpheus said to his crew as they had approached the city.

The city of Jericho was enormous, about the same size as Las Vegas to the eyes of Kim and Ron who were awed by what they had seen out the windows of the Neb II. The city was circular with roads that divided the city into sections like a pie, while spreading out from the center were concentric rings that made the roads of Jericho look like a bulls-eye. On the far outskirts, there were towers (twelve total), where each road that divided the city into pie sections, met with a tower as the road's final destination. From each of the towers came a kind of glowing, bluish gas that made Ron think about the propane gas tank his dad used to light his grill. While the towers themselves looked like spikes or narrow teeth of an unhinged mouth. At the very center of Jericho, there was a great tower that rose high above the other spikes.

The city seemed oddly creepy to Kim and Ron, with those towers, spikes, glowing gas, and all of it so dark, with the only light coming from lights within the city and the lightning from the abnormally black sky. The whole place looked like some kind of monster that was sitting on a rock waiting to swallow the Neb II as it passed by. Just like those creatures that Kim and Ron had seen on the Learning Channel that would sit at the bottom of the sea swallowing up their unsuspecting prey.

"It isn't much." Morpheus stated modestly about the city, "It's mostly a scientific community for the Atmospheric Purification Plant."

"We've been underground so long." Kim sighed as she looked up at the black sky, "It almost feels weird to be above ground for a change."

"You said it, KP." Ron smiled as the Neb II approached the great center tower.

"Jericho Control" Link called through his headphones, "This is Nebuchadnezzar Two requesting permission to dock, over."

There was a pause as the Neb II hovered a dozen yards from the center tower.

"Copy that, Nebuchadnezzar II." The control voice responded, "You are clear to dock at section eleven-a."

"Roger that, Jericho Control." Link responded as he took the controls of the Neb II and landed upon one of the many divided sections of Jericho. It was the section that was closest to the wall separating towers eleven and twelve. As the Neb II stretched out its landing gear, the floor beneath them opened up automatically. The floor of Jericho opened sideways and landed upon something that looked similar to that of a helicopter landing platform with the painted circle and H in the center of it.

The Neb II landed, and its landing pad lowered down underneath the floor of Jericho. Through the windows of the cockpit the crew looked out into a landing area. It was a large, underground, circular structure with a central pillar, a high ceiling, and all around were dozens of ships, all of them upon those section platforms. It was Jericho's Docking Garage; all around there were people tending to the needs of the different hovercrafts. The Neb II was facing outward towards the rest of the garage; there they saw something or at least Ron was the first to spot it. It was a ship a few sections away and to the right.

"The Leviticus." Morpheus stated when he saw what Ron was looking at, "She's the Neb Two's sister ship, almost the exact same make."

"Leviticus?" Kim asked, "Isn't that Josh's ship?"

"Oh great." Ron rolled his eyes, "Monkey's here."

"_Mankey_." Kim corrected Ron, but then she couldn't help but smirk at him and hug his arm as she teased, "You're not still jealous are you?"

"Well…ya know…he _was_ your first, KP." Ron stated, fumbling slightly over his words like a kid trying to give his first presentation to his classmates, "And the say that a girl usually falls in love with her first…um…"

"Actually," Kim said as she leaned in to whisper in Ron's ear, "That's a girl falls in _love_ with the best…and you're my best friend, and you were _way_ better then _Josh._"

"Thanks…" Ron blinked, "I think." He tried to process the information, but with Kim holding his arm and giving him a small wink, he let a smile cross his lips when Kim's hands reached down to his and tenderly and lovingly held them in her own.

With the Neb II docked, the crew departed with their bags in hand, ready to get to work with the scientists and other people in Jericho with the Atmospheric Purification Plant. The five of them walked their way through the stench of motor oil and ozone caused by the electrical sparks of the hover pads of each craft.

They got into a small elevator that went straight up. It felt like such a nice change from what they had done back in Neo Zion where the elevators went down so much. Though the facility itself was very much like Neo Zion, very grimy, dingy, and dimly lit with florescent lights; the kind that could make a person sick by just having the misfortune of being under them. Ron was grateful that Kim was there at his side, though the thoughts about _Mankey_made him a little nervous, and it helped even less with what happened next.

"I guess the rumors are true." A voice called ahead, just as Ron was looking at Kim, "The partners became a couple."

Ron, Kim, and the rest of the Neb II crew looked ahead, and there, leaning against the hallway wall, was Josh Mankey. Looking at him with that smug look on his face, Ron groaned quietly, hoping that it wouldn't be heard by Kim, but, as he approached, he blinked in confusion for a moment. It was one of those moments in Ron's life where he thought there was something there, but when he looked a second time it was gone. He tried to replay the moment in his head and, though he could never be absolutely sure, he thought that Josh Mankey was someone else for a moment.

"I could have sworn that I saw an Agent standing there…" Ron thought to himself, "I need to relax…"

The look on Ron's face made his lover next to him reach up and touch his shoulder.

"You ok, Ron?" Kim asked worriedly while Ron rubbed his eyes for a second.

"Yeah, KP." Ron answered smiling back at his lady love, "My eyes are acting up a little, probably just the low light."

"You sure?" Kim asked again

"Yeah, I am." Ron smiled before he turned to Josh Mankey and smiled at him, even thought the smile was the hardest thing that he had to pull off. "Hey Josh."

"How are you doing, Ron?" Josh smiled. Yet that smile and the look in his eyes struck something in Ron. It was that strange glimmer in Josh's eyes that seemed…sinister…yet, that was quickly set aside when Josh got up from the wall and came over to hug Kim. Watching Josh hug Kim instantly flared Ron's blood as if a fire had been sparked within him. He was automatically reminded how much he hated Josh _Monkey_. Even more so when he watched Josh's hands were traveling down Kim's back inch by careful inch as Josh held Kim in his embrace. His hands were at the very edge of her back near the rise of Kim's ass, and Ron's blood felt like a magma flow ready to burst.

"I've missed you…KP." Josh whispered, yet it was loud enough for Ron to hear, and that was when the volcano blew. Or, rather, it would've blown were it not for Kim's intervention. She was feeling…no, she knew that Ron was developing that jealous glare. Still, the fact that Josh was whispering that pet name that only Ron called her by into her ear was very creepy indeed and she had to get away.

"Yeah, Josh." She said nervously as she broke the embrace, "You heard right. Ron and I are now officially a couple…as in I'm not _single_ anymore." With the embrace broken she went over to Ron's side and wrapped her arms around Ron's left arm, laying her head upon his shoulder and pressing Josh to back off in a very round-about sort of way.

"Would you like to meet and have lunch later, KP?" Josh asked suggestively, "And maybe…get to know each other again? For old times sake?"

"I don't think that would be such a good idea, Josh." Kim said; her green eyes were darting from Josh to her lover who seemed to gain a look on his face that Kim not only knew but could feel. Despite the fact that she reassured him that she was over Josh, even during that Moodulator incident, Ron seemed to still think that there was something going on between her and Josh. Though Kim was mildly thankful that this meeting wasn't within the Matrix, where Ron could gut Josh with thoughts alone, which was obviously what Ron wanted to do to him.

"If you'll excuse us, Joshua…or rather Ares" Morpheus inserted as he stepped in between Ron, Kim, and Josh, "we have to get settled in before our night shift."

"Yes, sir, Morpheus." Josh smiled at the commanding officer before glancing back at the couple, "See you later Kim, and I know I'll see you later, Ron." He then turned his back and walked down the hall.

"What's got into him?" Kim asked shaking her head. She glanced at Ron before she leaned over and pressed her lips against his. It wasn't anything deep like what they would do when they were alone. It was a small and innocent peck on the lips, but it still left Ron reeling from the spontaneity of it.

"What was that for?" He asked as his white and freckled cheeks started to blush a light pink.

"Thought you might need some reassurance" Kim stated with a smile before moving back to Ron's side and slipping her hand into his. She then leaned over and whispered into his ear, "And if we have time before we have to help, I may have to give you some more reassurance."

Ron blushed as the crew of the Neb II moved on to the living area inside the central tower of Jericho.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

As the Neb II crew was resting up at Jericho, inside the Matrix there was some concern at the Possible house.

"Are Kim and Ron back yet?" Tim Possible sighed next to his brother at the breakfast table. The two of them had been a little concerned since it did seem suspicious that in the past six months Kim and Ron had gone on longer missions then normal. Even mom and dad seemed extra busy at the hospital and the lab. Hence the reason for a frequent baby sitter.

"Kim and Ron are always the better sitters." The twin brother Jim had stated

"Much better than Old Lady Granger." Tim agreed, "She's as dull as they come, all she cares about are books and cats."

It was true; Old Lady Granger was an old spinster who was used as a back-up sitter when Kim and Ron were away on their missions. Just the thought of her coming, bringing her cat Fluffers and her old books filled with snobbish stories made Jim and Tim cringe equally. As the two of them cringed and moped about it, their mother walked in with a smile on her face, before she handed the two of them their breakfast.

"Come now, boys." Misses Possible tried to explain to the boys, "You know Ron and Kim are on a very important mission."

"Important mission?" Tim asked as he cocked his left eyebrow wondering about the connotative meaning of _important mission._

"Bet they ran off together and are probably married now." Jim nodded with a great devilish smile upon his face.

"We'll be Uncle Tim and Jim in no time." Tim agreed pumping his fist into the air as if it was a goal to be reached like the peak of a mountain.

"Yeah." Jim nodded rubbing his hands together with a mischievous look on his face, "As sexually frustrated as those two are, it will be no time before they start the baby productions line!"

"They are not married." Misses Possible interjected, hoping to stop the boys' train of thought from going any further. "And there will be no babies anytime soon…I hope…" She then looked at the boys rather scolding and asked, "And how do you two know about sexual frustration?"

"Um…" The twins looked at each other hoping to come up with a good answer and they answered in unison, "Television!"

Misses Possible couldn't help but smile at her boys knowing the truth about sex. She then looked at her watch.

"Miss Granger will be here in an hour." She stated before looking back at Jim and Tim, "Can I trust you two enough for me to leave you alone so I can go meet your father for our trip?"

Mister and Misses Possible did go on long trips a lot to different conferences of their different fields. They couldn't send them to Grandma Possible in Florida, because their trips were only for a few days, which is why they got Old Lady Granger.

Jim and Tim looked at each other instantly and then back at their mother. Just like synchronized swimmers, they brought their hands together and up against their chests. Their eyes looked towards the ceiling in their angelic pose half expecting halos to pop-up over their heads.

"Mother dearest." Tim stated lovingly keeping the mock angelic pose, "We assure you."

"No harm shall come to our humble abode." Jim finished as he went over to the coat hanger and handed Misses Possible her jacket as she headed to the front door.

Of course, Misses Possible was leery about leaving Jim and Tim alone, especially when they were reassuring her like that. But what choice did she have? She couldn't stay, there was so much and so many that needed her help elsewhere. She took the jacket from Jim's hands and opened the front door while Tim made another reassurance to her as he handed her scarf.

"We will be perfect polite children to Miss Granger." Tim smiled

Misses Possible was still wondering if it was right to leave her boys along like that. Still, she was needed elsewhere, and she walked out the door as her boys waved good-bye to her.

"Bye!" They chimed in unison, "Be careful. We love you."

She turned and came back to them.

"Whatever you two are up do…don't…" She scolded but then looked at their adorable twin faces, "I'll trust you two to behave, ok?" Misses Possible bent down and kissed Jim and Tim on the forehead, wishing that she could take the two of them with her, but knew that she couldn't. She went down the walkway to her car, before giving the boys one last glance, "Bye boys! Love you too! And please…please don't get into trouble."

She got into her car, looking at Jim and Tim giving her one last wave before going back into the house. Misses Possible then drove out of her driveway and headed back into Middleton. As she left, her suspicions were coming true as Jim and Tim were relaxing and waiting for the right moment.

They heard the engine start and fade away into the distance.

"One Mississippi…" Jim counted

"Two Mississippi…" Tim continued

"Three Mississippi…"

"Four Mississippi…"

"Five Mississippi…"

The two of them looked at each other with mischievous smiles, "Coast is clear!"

"So what are we going to do?" Tim asked his brother cheerfully as he rubbed his hands together.

"A friend of mine told me about the old Gemini House down the street." Jim told his brother as if the was building him up for a dare, "He said it was haunted."

"Hoo-sha!" Tim rejoiced, "Let's check it out! We'll be back long before Old Lady Granger shows up!"

"Let's go!" Jim cheered

"Race you!" Tim cried out before the two of them dashed out the door.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Meanwhile, back in the real world, beneath the surface, wastes, and ruins of the old human world, within the sewer tunnels of the super cities, a hover ship; The Mad Dog was taking its perch upon the edge of one of the tunnels. It sat there like a bird in its nest protecting itself from the outside world. While inside, there were plans being made.

"Mind telling us why you pulled us out early?" Mister "Napster" Possible asked as he and his wife Misses "Kazaa" Possible walked onto the bridge of the Mad Dog where they met the rest of the Mad Dog crew. There was the captain, Steve "Kid" Barkin, Bonnie "Tres" Rockwaller, Brick "Tater Salad" Flagg, and the ship's operator Sparks.

"Word from Command." Steve "Kid" Barkin stated as he turned around in the pilot's seat to face his crew and give them the news. After all, they had left Zion in a damn big hurry and had not been told at all why they needed to leave. Even though the crew were used to following orders, this one was a little unusual to say the least, "Neo Zion sent us these scans. Tres, show them."

Steve "Kid" Barkin looked at his most loyal crewmember, Bonnie "Tres" Rockwaller, sitting in the co-pilot's seat as if she was day dreaming like she did in all the times that she was in his class in the Matrix.

"Rockwaller! Pay attention!" Barkin shouted

Bonnie jumped slightly as Barkin shouted at her hearing a slight echo in her ears. She came back to reality from the daydream that she was in, immediately went to the controls, and brought up the scans that Barkin was talking about.

All the while apologizing, "Sorry, captain."

A second later, a map came up from the small imaging projector that sat upon the dashboard between the pilot's and co-pilot's seat. It was a small, three-dimensional, rotating map of a city highlighted by blue lines with a small, red blob firmly ensconced within.

"That large red spot there is a large patch of electrical signals in the Machine City, Zero One Two." Barkin had briefed his crew and pointed to the red blob within the map.

"Then what's that over there?" Napster Possible asked, pointing to the red dot within the map of Zero One Two.

"That's what we've been sent to find out." Barkin answered, "We've been asked to maintain radio silence until we get there. It's about a week's flight and some surface travel."

"A week?" Kazaa Possible asked, sounding disappointed that it couldn't be less.

"Kimmie Cub's birthday is coming up." Napster pointed out

"Don't worry, Napster." Barkin smirked, "I'm sure Stoppable…I mean Neo, will make it a nice, looooooong, **enjoyable** evening for her."

"I didn't need to hear that." Mr. Possible said as he glared at his captain, unnerved that he had heard such a thing about his daughter.

Though there was one who liked the sound of the idea even less, and that was Bonnie "Tres" Rockwaller. She still agonized and blamed herself about that break-up with Ron six months back. Though she never really told the true reason why she was still thinking about it to anyone, but the thought about it made her feel sick.

"I'm not feeling well." She said as she stood up, letting the bangs of her brown hair come over her bluish eyes as she headed out the door of the bridge, "I'll be in my quarters, unless you need me here captain."

Bonnie didn't even wait for permission to be dismissed. Then again, the way that Bonnie looked when she left didn't exactly raise questions in anyone's minds about any of it. So, she simply slipped past Sparks, and headed back to her room within the Mad Dog.

"What bug crawled up her ass?" Sparks asked as he was recuperating from such a fast maneuver to get out of Bonnie's way.

"I think I have an idea." Mrs. Possible smiled, "I'll go talk to her."

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Far away from the Mad Dog's reconnaissance mission, Kim "Angel" Possible and Ron "Neo" Stoppable were resting up for their time to help those in the Atmospheric Purification Plant. Well, they weren't really resting, per se. The two of them were lounging in bed, the sheets pulled halfway back, and the two of them visibly naked in each other's embrace. Even though Ron wanted to leave, he felt so damned content being there with Kim like that, but when duty calls...

"KP?" Ron asked as he tried to sit up in bed, but was foiled by Kim applying more pressure to his shoulders to hold him down. It was a little like the wrestling programs that Ron would watch but in a more playful, intimate sort of way. Ron tried again, but could feel Kim's hands pushing him down even more; she could sense him wanting to get up and go help, but wanted him to stay. "Kim, we have to get up. We're supposed to be helping you know."

"No!" Kim snapped in a very slow and sexy voice as she snuggled closely into Ron's chest as if he were her personal cuddle-buddy.

"They'll need our help, Kim." Ron said softly trying to sneak out of Kim's grip, "It's not like you to not want to help people."

"People can wait, I'm comfy…" Kim mumbled as she snuggled the top of her head to the nape of Ron's neck. She turned her head and began to kiss his naked chest and running the tips of her fingernails up and down his abs before she slowly crept them towards Ron's groin. As her hand was under the sheets and only an inch away from her goal, there was a great metal creak. Her eyes opened wide as the door to their quarters swung open. She bolted upward to see who was interrupting her intimate moments with her lover and found it to be Josh Mankey.

"Oh, am I interrupting anything?" Josh smirked as Kim curled up into a seated position, pulling the sheets over herself to conceal herself from Josh's eyes that she knew was wandering over her body.

"What do you want, Josh?" Kim snapped holding the blanket to her chest.

"Oh, come off it, KP." Josh smiled in a way that made both Kim and Ron very agitated at him, "It's _no big_. It's not like it's the first time I've seen you naked you know. You weren't bothered by it the last time."

"This isn't before." Kim narrowed her eyes at the boy, keeping in mind that her heart, mind, body, and soul were Ron's and Ron's alone, "You better have a hell of a good reason for barging in like this."

"I do." Josh smiled arrogantly, "I was manning the radio and got a call for you, Ron. Someone named Wade told me to tell you that his mother wants to meet you in Central Park, New York City, and that she wants you to come alone."

"Alright, then." Ron growled at him as he sat up, "Do you mind leaving us alone so we can get dressed?"

"Of course, Ron. My work here is done." Josh nodded as he took a bow almost like an English servant before he stood back up and looked at Ron with a very sinister smile on his face, "Oh, and Ron? Enjoy it while it lasts, you never know when the next piece of eye candy will come around."

As Josh closed the hatch behind him, Ron could feel himself growl like a guard dog giving a warning to a trespasser. He wanted nothing more than to tear the trespasser limb from limb, with all the memories he had of Mankey in his head that wouldn't go away. At least until he felt the soft and warm hand of Kim reach up to his shoulder to hold him back.

"It's not worth it." She whispered to Ron as she wrapped her arms around his waist pressing her naked breasts against his back.

Ron took a deep breath and backed down.

"Well, guess we better get dressed and find Morpheus." Kim said as she let go of Ron and climbed out of bed to find her clothes. As she bent over in her nudity, looking for her clothes and boots on the floor, she didn't see what Ron was doing. At least, until she looked back and saw Ron staring at her ass and exposed cherry while she was bent over, she smiled at her lover while she reached over, picked up his boxer shorts and tossed them at his face while whispering, "Perv."

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Inside the Matrix, Ron "Neo" Stoppable was flying in the clouds over New York City. He looked down from his bird's eye view at the sky scrapers, small buildings, and there in the center of it all. A relatively small patch of green landscape like an oasis in the middle of the steel desert that was the city. With Central Park in his sights, he rocketed his way down to the ground, to the very place that was told to him.

He touched down near a small lake, there sitting a few feet away from the lip of the lake was a green, painted bench with a statue of a business man sitting there with a cell phone to his ear. Standing beside the bench, Ron took a good look around, seeing a nearby gazebo with no one in it, and another few feet behind him, there were statues of a caterpillar smoking a hookah atop of a mushroom with a little girl standing next to him. Ron couldn't help but smile at the statues, thinking how he was just like that little girl six months ago…tumbling down the rabbit hole.

Then he reminded himself that he couldn't stop to look, he was there to see the Oracle. He looked around and that's when something very strange occurred to him. He pulled back the sleeve of his coat and looked at the date.

"Saturday." He said to himself as Rufus wriggled his way out of his pocket and climbed up to his shoulder, "And not a soul in Central Park…_weird._"

"Spooky." Rufus squeaked

"Better call, Link, buddy." Ron said to his naked mole rat as Rufus reached into Ron's pocket to pull out the cell phone. He pressed the 0 button and heard the dial tone go through, before he heard the other end of the line pick up.

"Operator?" Link's voice asked

"Link." Ron spoke, "I'm here, but I'm not seeing anyone. Any sign of the Oracle near by?"

"Negative, Neo." Link replied over the phone, "But something is very weird so keep your eyes open."

"Gotcha." Ron answered back, "I'll keep in touch." He pushed the _end_ button and slipped the phone back in his pocket and continued to look around for people.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

In the real world, at the city of Jericho, the crew of the Neb II were in the Jack Room which also had a connection to the Matrix much like the Jack Room at Neo Zion. Of course Morpheus would have preferred to use the connection on the Neb II, but since the room was there in Jericho it seemed impractical to pass it by. Still there were bigger concerns on everyone's minds at that point after Ron had called them.

"I've got a bad feeling about this, sir." Link voiced his opinion, glancing back at Morpheus, Niobe and Kim who were looking at the coded screens over Link's shoulders.

"Ron can take care of himself." Morpheus stated confidently, but his tone of voice showed that he was just as nervous and concerned as the rest of them. Morpheus had a very good feeling that something was very, very wrong about all this. He knew that in all the meetings that Neo had with the Oracle she was usually there before, expecting him to show up like she always did. It wasn't like her to be late or show up after Neo had arrived.

"Wait…" Link said typing on his keyboards, "Something's definitely coming towards him." He typed faster and faster at his keyboards to find out what it is, but when he found it, every nerve in his body froze at what he saw on the screen. "It…can't…be…"

"Get him out." Morpheus stated firmly, his eyes starting to widen in unspoken panic, "Get him out, _now!_"

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Inside the Matrix, Ron was unaware of the danger that was approaching him, the one that his crewmates had seen on those coded screens in the Jack Room of Jericho. The thing that Ron could not get over was the fact that he was in Central Park on a Saturday, and there was hardly a soul around. It reminded him of a movie he saw a few years back called _28 Days Later_, in which a guy had awakened to London and there was not a single soul anywhere, just him. It felt just like that for Ron, as if he was the last living person inside the Matrix.

"Damn, this is eerie." He said to himself.

As the idea of being the last person alive in the Matrix ran through his head, another wave of chills ran up his back. Not only did it consume his spine, but it began to over take his body. With each passing second, he felt as if he was sinking into icy, cold water. That was when another feeling had begun to overtake him, a feeling that Ron had not felt in months since the days he was on missions with Kim. He felt total and absolute panic.

"Mister Stoppable!" A voice called out from behind him.

Ron turned instantly to see who that voice belonged to, no matter how terrifying it would be; he had to know. He looked to see…an _agent_…though at the same time it wasn't an agent. His senses about the Matrix told him that the code was that of a program or a person, but it resonated with completely raw power. The code was like staring into the sun, a blinding light that concealed the great power within it.

"Finally." The agent smiled in a way that made Ron think of a sick Jack-o-lantern, "We meet face to face!"

"I…" Ron tried to speak with Rufus growling from his shoulder, while Ron was frozen in place by the very presence of this…thing, he stepped away from whatever the thing was that stood before him, "I know you…"

"You should, Mister Stoppable." Smith smiled again at Ron, "I spent the last sixteen years of your life in your _head._ But as you can see, here I am…once again..._free_."

Ron took his fighting stance in fear of what this thing was that stood before him.

Smith held up his hands defensively as if he was surrendering, "I'm not here to fight; I only want to talk to you, Mister Stoppable."

"Talk?" Ron asked, slightly lowering his guard, "What about?"

Smith lowered his hands, "Oh, to just catch up a bit, that's all…and to make a proposal to you."

"Sorry, dude." Ron smirked at the agent, hiding his fear of him, "I don't swing that way, and I already have a girlfriend."

Agent Smith laughed, "Your humor amuses me. Much better then Mister Anderson, he was a good fighter but… stiff as a board when it came to humor…and speaking of which…how are things going with you and KP?"

"We're good." Ron stated quickly, not taking his eyes off of this person and hoping that he would change the subject, because it really wasn't any of his damned business.

"Are you really?" Smith questioned quirking an eyebrow, "Tell me…Mister Stoppable…are all your matters in order?"

"What?" Ron asked, coming down from his attack stance.

"Mister Stoppable…" Smith explained, "I have been around for quite some time now. I have seen six come and I have seen six go, though the last caused more than just a little trouble. So what is it now for you, Mister Stoppable? Around three weeks?"

Ron didn't say anything in response to this. His glace only went to the concrete ground; he wished that he could get out of there so that he wouldn't have to listen to that subject.

"What if I told you that there was a way?" Smith asked smiling broadly as Ron's eyes looked back at Smith from behind his mirror lens sunglasses, "There is a way, Mister Stoppable…but it all depends on you and you alone…"

Ron was no longer in his fighting stance; he was only standing on his feet with his hands at his sides and his naked mole rat, Rufus, growling like a dog at Smith. The odd stand off was broken when the cell phone in Ron's pocket began to ring, though Ron didn't reach for it the moment it rung, he simply held his hands at his sides.

"You can either answer the phone and follow Link's instructions to an exit," Smith played out the options for Ron, "Or…you can come with me and hear me out. I will not lie, but I will be disappointed if you turn down my offer, however, I will hold no grudges and will let you return to your happy little fantasy life with Kim."

Ron glanced down at his pocket from behind his sunglasses and then back to Smith.

"What's it going to be, Mister Stoppable?" Smith asked, "You now have the power to step out of Kim's shadow, but you must take the first step or you will never see the sun."

Ron reached into his pocket and pulled out the still ringing cell phone. He glanced at it for a half a second before his trembling thumb reached up, out and pressed the power off button. The ringing was silenced and he slipped the phone back into his pocket while Rufus was squeaking loudly in his ear.

"I'm listening." Ron said

"Excellent, Mister Stoppable." Smith smiled once again like a psychotic jack-o-lantern, "Now, if you would come with me, please? We'll go someplace private to talk."

As Smith led Ron out of Central Park, Rufus was chirping into Ron's ear.

"Quiet, Rufus." Ron whispered, "I have to know."

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

"He turned off his phone…" Link whispered in disbelief

"Where is he now?" Morpheus asked leaning over Link's shoulders, worry just dripping over the words that he spoke like syrup over pancakes.

"I don't know." Link sighed quickly as his fingers galloped over the keys like the feet of sprinters in an Olympic race, "Smith…or whatever he is, he's somehow blocking our tracking signal."

"Looks like he's on his own then." Morpheus sighed as he stood back up looking at the sleeping Ron in his Jack Chair, "Be very careful, Ron."

Kim looking at Morpheus and the rest of the Neb II crew, she somehow felt left out because it seemed that everyone there knew what was going on except her. She had no clue who this…Smith was…but she was determined to find out. It was that Blue Fox trait that she had; she couldn't stand being left in the dark about anything.

"Who is that guy?" Kim asked, both unnerved by the mutual nervousness of the Neb II crew as well as frustrated about not knowing what was going on.

"Kimberly." Morpheus said as he came over to Kim, placing a hand on her shoulder as if he was about to deliver the most terrible news in the history of the world, "Do you remember how I spoke of Neo, the One before Ron, how he died to save people trapped in the Matrix and end the war?"

"Yes…" Kim gulped, afraid to even hear or think about the answer that was coming, so much so that she could feel the twisting and turning of her stomach.

"The demon that Ron is with right now…" Morpheus spoke and Kim's heart began to sink to her ankles at hearing the rest, "Is the very demon that Neo died fighting against."

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Agent Smith and Ron "Neo" Stoppable had traveled in Smith's black sedan from Central Park all the way to downtown Manhattan. There they went into one of the sky scrapers to a private dinning restaurant. At first, Ron was expecting a restaurant like the Merovingian's, but it was a lot classier, with a Harp player, piano player, and traditional suits and ties were required dining. Smith led Ron to one of the tables near the window that looked out at the city.

"Have a seat, Mister Stoppable." Smith offered and Ron slowly accepted, slipping into the very comfortable dinning chair. Ron sat nervously in his chair, his heart racing in his chest, it's beating heard in his ears while Smith sat across from him, interlocking his fingers as he sat his elbows on the chairs arm supports. "I know what you're thinking Mister Stoppable. I know you…I know how you think…and what you think about…I know your every thought…every dream…every nightmare….your every fantasy…and your every desire…now I must ask you a very important question…one that I had once asked Mister Anderson. Why? Why do you keep fighting?"

"I…um…" Ron started, trying to dig into his own mind and heart for answers to that question, "I guess I fight to live. I fight to protect others, like Kim."

"Ah yes, KP." Smith smiled as he said that name, "You'd follow her to hell if you had to. And in fact that has happened, has it not? I do in fact remember your initial reaction to _the real world_." Smith shook his head slightly, "You say you fight to live, yet you know if you keep fighting you will die in three weeks. So I must ask you…is it _really_ worth fighting for?"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, rather confused about Smith's question

"The people in Zion," Smith began his explanation, "And other _real _cities respect you for your power. For you being _The One_, but that's about it. As for those inside the Matrix, you're still just Kim Possible's nameless, bumbling, and goofy sidekick. And you honestly believe Kim's worth fighting for?"

"I know she's worth fighting for." Ron stated, very sure of himself, especially with the six months that he had spent with Kim. All those happy and intimate times he had with her, more than any other woman, "I love her and she feels the same about me."

"Does she really?" Smith asked rather sarcastically as he leaned over the table to look at Ron from behind his sunglasses, "Do you think she really _knows_ what love is?"

"I…" Ron started, but quickly lost the words as if they were droplets of water that quickly leaked out of his hands.

"Let's look at her history a bit, shall we?" Smith nodded, "There was the foreign exchange student that you traded places with for that week, Hirotaka. There was the football star, Brick Flagg and the majority of the team, Senor Senior Junior, and _how_ can you forget, _Josh __Mankey_? The boy that took Kim's virginity, how could you possibly forget? DO you remember? You were planning to surprise Kim at her sixteenth birthday with a cake you made yourself? You must have spent all day trying to make the cake…_perfect_…so that each bite would tell how much you cared about her.

"She never would have guessed you were in her closet that night while she screwed the _Alpha __Hottie__ of Middleton High_ and could hear every _gasp, sign, moan, and calling Josh's name…would she?_ Probably still think that every time you're with her now…right?"

Ron just looked down at his plate, secretly thanking God that he still had his sunglasses on or Smith would have seen the tears welting up in Ron's eyes. He remembered that night of Kim's sixteenth birthday as if it happened yesterday. He remembered how he stayed in that closet all through the hours that Kim and Josh made love, while Ron sat in the closet trying to stay quiet so he wouldn't get caught, while the tears dropped onto the frosting of his special cake. Until the late hours of the night when Josh and Kim were asleep, he got out, set the cake on the kitchen table and went home, the evening scarring his heart.

"And have you ever thought about it, I mean _really_ thought about it, Mister Stoppable?" Smith asked demanding an answer from Ron, "She drew a line. You could never be more than her best friend. Sure she never said it, but she certainly treated you like it, didn't she? Do you remember the times when the two of you were alone? She called you her _best friend,_ but how many times did you hear her talking with guys or other friends about you, and how you were lucky to be called her friend? The majority of the time you were the guy she hung out with sometimes."  
Smith had paused to let the information sink into Ron; he could tell that all of this was starting to come down on Ron's shoulders like some kind of cartoon, sixteen ton weight that was dropped on his head.

Then he started again.

"She couldn't be in a relationship with you." Smith stated, "You were _too low on the totem pole_. She could only love someone popular, someone strong, and someone powerful and then, low and behold; you became The One and she's all over you!"

Ron stared at the bleak whiteness of the plate in front of him, taking all of the facts in. As much as he didn't like the sound of it, it all had made a very creepy and heart-breaking sense.

"And when was the last time that she actually told you that she loved you?" Smith asked, "I mean, told you seriously…not flirting."

Ron said nothing.

"You know what they say, right?" Smith asked, "A girl most of the time falls for the one who takes her virginity. Are you sure she's worth fighting and dying for if she will only run back to Josh after your death in three weeks?"

Ron didn't respond.

"All I am asking is for you to decide if you should fight or not." Smith gave his proposal, "Do you really want to be a sacrificial lamb for a humanity that has no real respect for the _real Ronald Stoppable?_"

Ron still did not say a word. Not even when Smith stood up from the table and looked down on the one man who was once though to be a savior to all humanity. He was reduced; he was just the frightened, scared, and confused little boy who had just awakened once again to reality.

"I don't expect you to answer right away." Smith ended his proposal, "Meet me back in Central Park near those Alice in Wonderland statues in ten days. Do what you know is best…not what KP thinks is best." He walked over and placed a hand on Ron's shoulder, "Good-bye…Mister Stoppable."

Ron didn't watch Smith leave the restaurant; all Ron was left with was his shattered heart and his head spinning with the facts of what Agent Smith had told him. How could he face Kim again? Especially with the past brought up like that? How?

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Ron gasped as he had awakened back to reality, back to the Jack Room of Jericho and to the chair that he was lying in. He looked up at the fluorescent lights that were stinging his eyes so much that he covered them with his forearm as he felt someone pull the jack from the back of his head. As the jack was placed back in its rightful place, Ron heard a cry that he was both glad to hear and was dreading at the same time.

"Ron!" Kim cried out as she dashed over to the jack chair. She threw her arms around Ron, her face buried into his chest, and her voice trembling, "I was so worried about you."

With Kim's arms around him, Ron felt very weird about the whole thing. He suddenly felt very dirty being touched by Kim. He reached over and pulled Kim's arms away from him as he got out of the Jack Chair. Without even saying a word, he headed to the door of Jericho's Jack Room, and as he headed out, he made his statement to Morpheus.

"Captain" He said walking to the door, "I'm going to stay on the Neb Two tonight…_alone_." He emphasized the word 'alone' as if not-so-secretly telling Kim not to follow him.

When Ron left Kim's side, he gave her a look that sent chills all the way through her body. It was as if Ron wasn't the same person anymore, he wasn't that loving, carefree man that Kim had fallen in love with all those months ago when she had died and he brought her back to life again.

"What did he do, Ron?" Morpheus asked, his voice demanding an answer from Ron

Ron stopped at the door of the Jack Room, "He just opened my eyes to a few things that I never really gave a lot of thought to." He explained to Morpheus

"Ronald." Morpheus said trying to tell Ron to listen to him, "Smith is pure evil; he can't be trusted."

"I know." Ron signed annoyed by Morpheus' preaching, "But what he said made sense, and I really oughta give what he told me some thought…anyway, I'm not feeling so great right now, so I'll rest on the Neb Two. Call me if anyone needs help."

Ron walked out the door of the Jericho Jack Room while the rest of the Neb II crew that were left behind were shocked and stunned. They had guessed that Smith had never corrupted Ron through his infections like he did with so many others within the Matrix, but at the same time they wondered. Ron was just so very different in coming out of the Matrix, so different that it scared so many of them, not on the bigger level, but because he was their friend.

Kim on the other hand wasn't going to take this lightly. She walked out the door of the Jack Room and followed Ron into the hallway back to the elevator at the end of the hall. All the while she was calling to him.

"Ron, please talk to me!" she called to him, the tears starting to crack her voice, "Tell me what he said, _please!_ Have I done something, Ron, or said something? _Please tell me, please!_" She begged of her love as he came to the door of the elevator, pushing the down button, waiting for the elevator car to come quickly.

Kim had caught up.

"Ron!" She cried, "_Please, talk to me! I love you!_"

The doors of the elevator opened, and Ron took a deep breath. He turned back to look at Kim who was crying for him, shedding tears for the one that she loved. The gaze in his eyes was filled with a strange, cold, hatred coupled with an intense sorrow that made them look like he was going to weep just like Kim.

"Do you?" Ron asked as a small tear ran down his cheek before he turned his back on Kim, walked into the elevator, pressed the down button, and never looked back as the doors closed.

While the elevator went down to the docking garage, Kim fell to her knees.

"Ron…" She cried as the tears slid down her face and pooled on the dingy black floor beneath her, "_Ron…_"

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3: Breaking Point

**The ****Kimmatrix****: Matrix Upgraded**

**A Fan Fiction Fusion By**

**Classic Cowboy and ****Turles**

**Chapter 3: Breaking Point**

"_A man loses his sense of direction after four drinks. A woman loses hers after four kisses."_

- H.L. Mencken

**110101100110100111001011011100101010110101**

Kim sniffled as she laid in her and Ron's bed in their temporary apartment in Jericho. She had been tossing and turning for hours, but it had felt like an absolute eternity to her. She glanced up at the clock that displayed time in military style. It had told Kim that it was 0345, with as little time that had passed in her eternity of misery Kim felt as if the clock was laughing at her, taunting her with minutes that went by like hours. Her heart ached when she thought about Ron again, and the next wave of tears came over her like an ocean that was drowning her in its depths of misery. It was the first time in six months that she slept without Ron to curl up next to, never before in her entire life had she felt so alone…or so empty, and it didn't feel right at all.

"Why, Ron?" Kim cried, her tears burning across her face and soaking into her pillow as she tossed and turned even more, the sadness, the loneliness, and the misery drowning her. She rolled onto her side, closing her eyes, and yet her tears still managed to squeeze out and roll down her raw face and into her pillow. "Why?" She asked again, her heart begging for some kind of answer that could explain Ron's behavior.

"Doubt he'd hear you." A familiar voice spoke to Kim.

Kim quickly sat up, her heart jumping to racing speed as she looked to see who was in the room with her. Sitting at the edge of the bed was a young woman that Kim barely recognized. Yet, the dress she had on, she did recognize it was that pair of loose white pants and sash that covered the young woman's breasts. It was the very same dress that Kim had worn during that celebration in Neo Zion nearly six months ago. She remembered how Niobe had told her that it was belonged to a friend of hers that had passed away. Looking at that young woman, she wondered if that was the person that Niobe was talking about. At that point, Kim remembered that woman she had spoken to around the time that Ron was captured by Drakken for use in that Code Copier of the Merovingian's.

"Wanna talk?" She asked sympathetically.

Kim felt as ease with that woman, as if they were connected to one another on some indefinable level. Yet, when Kim sat next to her, she could almost swear that this woman looked like Bonnie Rockwaller, but Kim dismissed the notion. Her reasoning being, how could anyone resembling Bonnie be so kind?

Sitting next to her, Kim still couldn't do anything but cry. The young woman wrapped her arms around her and allowed Kim to cry into her chest. It was like what Kim's mother used to do when she was younger, what all mothers could instinctively do for their children when they were in the throes of depression.

"I don't…" Kim cried as she tried to speak through her tears and sniffling, "…don't understand…w-what happened…we were great…then he…he spoke to…him…and….and…came back a different person."

In that woman's arms, Kim felt the lady's hand rubbing the back of her head just like a mother trying to calm her child. While Kim wrapped her arms around her, she hoped to fill that emotional void that was made when Ron left her.

"He just has demons to work out," The young woman advised, "Do you remember what I told you, Kim? You have to _let go _and _have faith in him._"

"I know!" Kim wept even harder into the young woman's sash, "I know…but…I...I just wish…I could talk to him." She dried her tears as she thought more about it, and an idea started to form in her head. She wiped her nose with her hand and looked at the young woman, "Maybe I could talk some sense into him." He voice then began determined, "I'll corner him in the morning and I'll talk to him or I'll beat whatever is wrong out of him!"

"I don't know if that's such a smart move, sweetheart." The young woman stated, smiling sympathetically at Kim.

"I don't care!" Kim stated, her old self Blue Fox traits resurfacing once again, "I have to know what's wrong!"

She made that last declaration before she found herself lying down on her bed. She opened her eyes and looked around and then back at the clock that read 0734. It then occurred to her that she did fall asleep despite all her tossing, turning, and weeping.

"Stupid dreams…" She signed before curling back up to her pillow.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Kim "Angel" Possible had hit the ground in a hard thud. The battle she had was too terrible to even describe. She couldn't make any victories in it her own. There were only casualties, her tight leather clothes were cut and torn nearly all over her body so much that it was a wonder that it still stayed on her body. Beneath each cut in the garments, there was the cut into the flesh where blood ran freely from her cuts and gashes. She looked out with the one good eye she had left since the other was closed shut from a black eye. She tried to get up, but she had lost so much blood that she could barely get onto her knees.

"What's the matter, KP?" A very sinister voice taunted Kim as he came closer. Kim looked up at a man in an Agent's suit, tie, and sunglasses, yet he had no earpiece. "I thought you could do _anything._"

Kim was about to answer, but she was stopped when the Agent quickly reached down for the material of her leather vest. With a force that Kim had never seen in any human being, the Agent picked her up off of the ground. She watched his face in terror as he held her there. It felt as if the Agent wanted to study her for at least a moment, as if she were a scab that was picked off a hidden place and wanted to see it before it was thrown away.

"Why he loves you I'll never know." The Agent sneered at Kim as if she were a bug that was about to be squashed. She watched in further horror as copies of the Agent began to pour into the room, all of them gathering around the one Agent who had Kim Possible in his grasp. They watched like a crowd at the Roman Coliseum waiting for a condemned prisoner to be executed as the one Agent looked at Kim from behind his sunglasses.

"You're pathetic," he stated, grinning sinisterly at her, "You think you are this great hero because you take down some rejects from the local carnival. You know what, though? You're nothing! Absolutely nothing! I mean, look at you now, KP! Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the Great Kim Possible, _she can do anything!_ Look at your bloody body trembling in fright, your green eyes wide with terror, and your lips trembling in fear! You're no hero, just a scared little girl who is waiting for _the One_ to come and save her! But you know what? After I brought him to realize how you've _really_ treated him, I doubt he'll ever be there to hold you in the spotlight again!"

"You don't…" Kim choked, as she spat blood from her lips, "you don't know anything about Ron!" She said her last statement as she gathered up her blood and saliva and spat in the Agent's face. It landed right on the lens of the Agent's sunglasses and Kim felt victorious for the first time in this: her darkest of hours.

"You'd be surprised Kimmie." The Agent stated, laughing darkly as he reached to pull off his soiled sunglasses. "Has he ever told you about his experience in your closet?" He asked as he lowered Kim down and brought his fingertips directly over her sternum as if he was about to reach in and pull her heart out, "I'd tell you to ask him, but…you're fixing to be a little occupied."

Kim didn't have time to ask what he meant, all she could do was let out a sharp and high scream as Smith's fingers plunged into her chest. From the wounds came black fluid that oozed its way down Kim's body as well as around her face. She looked out with her one good eye as a tear slid down her face, while her lips uttered one name before the fluid engulfed her:

"Ron…"

"Kim!" Ron screamed as he sat back up on his bed on the Neb II. He looked around hoping to find Kim when the memories of what had happened instantly came back to him. Secretly, he had hoped Kim was there beside him to reassure him that everything would be alright. Instead, he had to do it himself, "Just a dream…"He panted "Just a dream…"

He laid back done upon his bed, feeling a huge void in both the bed and his heart. He took a deep breath as he wrapped his arms around the pillow. He wanted nothing more than to dash back up to the apartment he had with Kim and dive into her arms apologizing for everything, and begging her for her forgiveness. To be back there in her arms and the warmth of her body instead of the cold emptiness that surrounded him. Still, there was so much that needed to be sorted out first, but he did know that he had to face Kim sometime. He shook his head at the thought because the thought of Kim only loving him for his abilities paralyzed him.

"Wonder if Neo ever had days like this…" He sighed before trying to get back to sleep.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Inside the Matrix…

"Wahoo!" Tim hollered as he leapt off the of the windowsill edge inside the abandoned Gemini house. He didn't land on the ground though; his speed through the air seemed to slow down as if gravity was losing its effect on him. He spun like a diver pulling tricks in mid-air, but Tim did it as he worked his way over the old and decaying dining room table. He even managed to do one mid-air somersault before he landed on his feet on the other side of the table.

"This is so cool!" Jim chirped as he too made his leap off of the windowsill, but, instead of the acrobatics of his brother, he made backstrokes through the air as if he was swimming through a pool.

"Shouldn't we head back home, Tim?" Jim asked as he landed on the other side of the dining room table.

"Maybe." Tim nodded, "But let's look around a little more first; this is just too cool to waste to go back to Old Lady Granger."

"Hoo-sha." Jim went along with his brother.

The two of them went further on into the house, while in the shadows of the dining room were two figures. Figures of men, but at the same time they weren't men at all. They were transparent, at least only transparent enough to see through them. While their basic shapes could still be seen, they came out of the shadows, floating with no legs beneath them, holes in their heads where the eyes would be but only sockets remained, and their hair flailing around like the snakes on a gorgon's head. The two…_ghosts…_looked at one another, their mouths spread wide to show their cone-shaped teeth as they floated along through the dining room, passing through the table as if it wasn't there and through the wall, following Jim and Tim as they explored the house.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Meanwhile, in the real world, at the city of Jericho, Kim walked proudly through the hallways of Jericho to Air Filtering Station Zero-Four. She was filled to the brim with determination that she would find out the answers to her questions, no matter what the cost. Of course, Kim knew that there was much at stake, but that didn't matter to her, she would get the answers. It was either that or Ron would be spending a lot of time in sick bay the next few days. Each step she took was, to her, a milestone to reach her goal, like all those times she fought villains and when she would be getting closer to foiling their plans. Except then she knew she could do it, this…this was different.

She turned the corner and found the sign on the door that read _Air Filtering Station Zero-Four_. She stepped into the station, which was a very circular room with rods (The air filters) sticking out at least a few feet from the wall, which made the room feel very creepy. It felt as if one misstep could impale a person on one of those rods, even though they were flat ended. She looked around seeing members of the Neb II pulling out the rods from the wall and replacing them. There was Morpheus, Niobe, Ghost, Link, and, of course, Ron.

"Target Locked." Kim thought to herself as she smirked and went over to Ron who was just pulling out a rod from the wall.

"Ron." Kim asked as she stood behind him, "Do you have a minute."

Ron didn't even turn to look at Kim, "As you can see, Kimberly, I'm just a tad busy." He said, his voice sounding very cold and unfeeling, "Can it wait 'til later?" He asked as he picked up a new air filter rod that he was about to insert into the wall before Kim reached over placed her hand on it and gently shoved it downward as if telling Ron to stop what he was doing.

"No, Ronald." She replied as if there was no negotiation about what she wanted, "No, it can't wait."

On the other side of the Air Filtering Station the members of the Neb II began to gather in one place as if they were frightened children huddling themselves from their parents fighting. In reality, they were just giving Kim and Ron space to work their problems out. Though Link was the most vocal about this as he whispered to anyone within listening distance. "Oh shit…" He gulped, "Real names. The shit hath hitteth the fan…eth."

"Look." Kim started trying to be kind once again but still firm with Ron, "I just want to know what's wrong, that's all. I know that Smith guy told you something completely off the wall and as usual you bought into it, hook, line, and sinker. So do you mind telling me what he said so that I can prove him wrong?"

"Well, actually, KP, you're off to a good start of proving him right." Ron sighed as he set down the air filter rod and turned to walk away. He was only a few steps away from her before Kim dashed over in front of him and slammed her palm into his chest, stopping him dead in his tracks."

"No, Ron." Kim stated, holding Ron at that distance, "I'm not leaving 'til you tell me what he said and exactly what you meant by that."

"You can't save me this time, Kim; this is my fight." Ron stated, looking directly into Kim's emerald eyes, while his own were filled with years of torment, sorrow, pain, and misery that were unleashed like a rabid animal that had been poked and prodded.

"Your fights are my fights." Kim stated defiantly at Ron, "Isn't that what best friends and partners are for?"

Ron began to laugh as if he had heard the greatest joke of his young life.

"What's so funny, Ron?" Kim demanded as her fingers buried themselves into his shirt and grabbed it.

"So it's partners now huh?" Ron chuckled, coming down from his great laugh until his voice turned dark and serious, "Funny…to Monique, Tara, Bonnie, _Josh_, and who-the-hell-ever else, I was just your _sidekick_."

Kim's grip on Ron's shirt loosened a little, "What?" She asked, very puzzled by Ron's statement, "I…I don't understand…"

"Have you ever treated me as your partner or as your best friend around your friends, Kim?" Ron asked with the hatred and bitterness seething through every word that he spoke. Kim's grip on his shirt had let go as she saw all the anger and sorrow in Ron's brown eyes. Ron even took a step towards Kim, while she took a step back, becoming frightened by what she saw. "I was good enough when everyone else was _busy_, but whenever Monique or that hottie _Josh_ was available, it was '_see you later, Ron. I'll call you.'_ When I wanted to be the Mascot, you didn't believe in me, you just went along with what the rest of the squad thought! And let's not forget that one Halloween! Do you remember that, Kim? _Do you!_ You _lied_ to me! You gave me some bullshit story that I should have seen right through, and I had to go off on my own for the first time in my whole life! But I thought; _No, KP would never lie to me!_ Remember that, Kim? I doubt it!"

"Ron…I…." Kim uttered as she felt herself being backed up against the wall between the air filter rods. She felt trapped, no where to go except to face Ron who was only half an arms distance from her. She truly felt afraid because it was her original plan that she would be the one cornering Ron to get the answers to her questions and now turn-about about been played upon her.

Ron stared down at Kim with his milk chocolate eyes, "Oh, and let's not forget the school dance a year ago, remember that one? While you were _trying _to convince yourself to ask _Josh_ out, while I tried every way in the world to get _any_ girl to go with me. Did you notice? _NOT AT ALL!_ Oh! And I'm sure you had a great time with _Monkey_, but did you ever call me, see if I was going with anyone, or _act like you even cared!_ NO, you were having a grand ole time with _Monkey_ while I spent the dance and THE WHOLE FREAKING WEEKEND in the broom closet! Did you ever even concern yourself with where I was that whole time? No, you were too obsessed with _Monkey!"_

Kim gulped, feeling so afraid to even look at Ron in the eyes seeing all that hatred and sorrow that he had in those brown orbs and knowing it was all directed at her. Still she tried to make a response, but then Ron had cut her off again.

"Even when I changed, it still wasn't good enough for you!" He snarled at Kim, "I made myself buff like Brick by using that muscle ring. I became a genius because of that brainwave enhancer. I became rich because of my naco royalties and I was throwing my money around left and right. I even saved the day on numerous occasions _without your help_. Hell, Kim, I even let you change my hair style, but was it good enough for you, ever?"

Kim's mouth felt very dry when Ron brought up all these memories. He was right, he had changed himself so many times, but Kim simply wanted the goofball Ron. She tried to tell herself that she liked Ron just as he was, but if that was the case why did she let him do all that stuff to himself? She knew that Ron was right; that she never thought he was good enough for her no matter what he did.

"No." Ron answered his own question, "It wasn't. You always put me down for it! I could never win with you, you always pushed me down and away as I was, but when I changed to be like one of the guys you _noticed_, you put me down for it until I became my _goofy sidekick self again_! Tell me, Kim. If we were never freed and I never became the One, would you still have noticed me?"

Kim had an answer to that question, "I noticed you before all that!" She shouted back before Ron could cut her off, "I noticed you _long _before any of that!"

"You sure have a real funny way of showing it, Kimberly!" Ron snorted at Kim's statement before he turned his back on her, "It still doesn't change the fact that you had _lied to me!_"

"At least I told you something!" Kim hissed at Ron's back, feeling her own blood beginning to boil with all the faults that Ron was stating against her, "But I have a question for you! What happened with you and Yori?"

"What?" Ron asked turning around to face Kim, his voice showing shock at what he heard.

"You know Yori." Kim stated very sarcastically, narrowing her eyes at Ron with an anger that flared from the thought of the girl in question, "The girl from Japan. The girl you _never told me about!_"

"How did you…" Ron stated, but then he narrowed his gaze at Kim as his mind made the connection of what Kim did, "_You read my mail…_"

Ron remembered the letters that he saved that were from Yori, the one girl that seemed to like him for who he was. At least before all of the things that happened when he was freed from the Matrix. Yori seemed to actually find Ron humorous with his "American Style Jokes" as Yori called it. Ron even remembered how Yori always said that he was a warrior hero at Yamanouchi.

"Yes, I did read those letters." Kim replied, shoving a finger at Ron's chest, "And I'm glad I did. So what then, Ron? Or should I say, _Mr. Pot calling the kettle black? _I _never_ kept you out of _anything!_ I even told you when Josh took me for the first time."

"_YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO TELL ME ABOUT THAT!_" Ron screamed at the top of his lungs at Kim, "_I ALREADY KNEW!_"

"What?" Kim asked, her arm dropping to her side as she felt the shock come over her by this turn of events.

"You really want to know what Smith told me?" Ron asked with his voice very low and over flowing with anger, "You _really_ want to know? I'll tell you. He told me _the truth!_ You're no better than Bonnie! All you wanted was a guy who was strong and powerful! I have no reason to be in this relationship with you, Kimberly Anne Possible! And yet, I don't understand how or why I could love someone as shallow and two-faced like you as much as I do, ok?"

"B…but…" Kim uttered, feeling and damn near hearing her heart break into a thousand pieces, "I thought…."

"Don't!" Ron interrupted bringing his index finger to Kim's lips, "Don't think…don't speak…_don't do anything_. Just let me handle this one fight by myself…_for once!_"

Ron allowed his arm to drop to his side, bringing his finger with it. He gave one last cold look at Kim before he turned around and left the Air Filtering Station. He walked out the door and never looked back at Kim as if he was going far away and didn't want anything to hold him back.

As he left, Kim allowed herself to slide down the wall and sit on the floor with the air filter rods on either side of her. She felt lost and alone, even more so than before, it truly seemed better when she didn't know. It dawned upon her the full and true meaning of the phrase _Ignorance is bliss._ All she could do was sit there and try to gather up the all the pieces of her broken heart.

With Ron gone, there was a deafening silence that came over them, even the crew of the Neb II were shocked and blown away by what they had witnessed.

"Well…" Link whispered as he started to replace the filters once again, "That was interesting."

Yet, as Ron Stoppable left the Air Filtering Station, there was someone there in the corner, hidden by the shadows. As Ron stomped his way down the hallway, the figure stepped out into the light. He smiled with sinister intent, rubbed his hands together greedily, and he saw that that everything was going just as he had planned it.

"Good." Josh "Ares" Mankey reveled in the current turn of events.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

"KP?" Josh asked as he walked into the apartment that was once shared by Kim and Ron, "Kim? You ok?"

Josh came into the apartment, gingerly seeing as how bad the fight was between Kim and Ron. He had seen his fair share of lovers' spats in his life, but what he saw between Kim and Ron was beyond anything he had ever witnessed.

As he came over to the bed where Kim sat curled up into a ball, Kim looked up weakly at her ex. Her eyes red and her face raw and pink from her tears.

"I'm sorry about what happened with Ron." Josh offered his condolences to Kim as if he was expressing sorrow for the death of someone close to Kim.

"Does the whole city know?" Kim asked, turning her glance away from Josh. All the things that Ron had said to her had shattered her heart, but, at the same time, all of it was so true. Kim looked at herself and saw all the things that Ron said to her, that she was shallow, and two-faced, and so many other things; after all, when she was back in the Matrix, she would only buy from Club Banana when she knew the same clothes could be found at places like Smarty Mart for a quarter of the price.

"Isn't being embarrassed by him what caused this whole problem?" Josh asked, sitting down next to Kim, his voice taking on the tone and tenderness of a crisis counselor.

"I've never been embarrassed by Ron." Kim said to Josh with an air of pride.

Josh cocked an eyebrow at Kim's bold statement.

"Much…" Kim corrected herself.

"Yeah." Josh nodded knowingly as he slipped an arm around Kim's neck, "you had some of that coming, but it wasn't all your fault, Kim. It wasn't you who made him think about this so much."

"What?" Kim asked, glancing at Josh and giving no thought to his arm around her neck. After all, it did bring back some good memories that Kim had with Josh. All those times she was with him in the Matrix, especially that one special birthday she had.

"The whole city has heard about Ron's run-in with Agent Smith." Josh explained

"I don't know what to do…" Kim sighed, looked down at the dingy and grimy floor, "Only thing I can think of is to do what the Oracle said and…just…have faith in him."

"Faith?" Josh scoffed, "You know, if you were twelve, that would be cute, but now that you're this age, it's just sad, Kimmie. I met the old bag once; she isn't really worth all the hype that everyone talks about. Face it; Smith isn't really that bad yet. He's no worse then Drakken, or any of the other bozos you took on. I'm sure you can take him down easily without Ron's help."

Kim looked up at Josh who was smiling in that way that Ron used to when he was offering his support to her. Though Kim looked at Josh, wondering what he was implying by what he was saying to her.

"Why don't you go ahead and take him down before he gets powerful like he did the last time." Josh suggested, "I mean…I'm sure you don't want Ron to end up like Neo."

"You're right." Kim agreed, getting out of the curled up position she was in and standing up on her feet with that same determination in her eyes that she had that morning that Ron had been taken away from her, "Maybe if I stop this guy, I'll be able to prove myself to Ron!"

"That's the spirit, Kim!" Josh cheered Kim on as he stood beside her, "I'm sure you will beat him. Come on; let's use the Jack Chamber on the Neb-two."

With that, Kim and Josh were on their way to the Neb II without a single care of the dangers within.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Inside an old, dilapidated, warehouse office in the industrial part of New York City, a black rotary phone began to ring. From out of the shadows came Kim's hand, which picked up the received and held it to her ear eagerly.

"I'm in, Josh." Kim spoke into the phone, but heard no answer, "Josh?" She asked again, but there was still no response. It was as if the operators' station was empty. Yet when Kim went into the Matrix first, Josh told her that he'd be there. At first she didn't think much about it because her mind was too set upon completing the goal that Josh had suggested to her. She hung up the phone before she reached into her coat and pulled out a small blue hair band to tie her hair into a high ponytail.

She walked out of the warehouse and down to the streets where she found herself to be in a very large and private parking lot with only a small handful of cars taking up the spaces. She looked around and found not a single soul in sight.

"Ok." Kim thought to herself, "The monitors showed me that Smith was somewhere in the vicinity."

Before she could take another step into the parking lot, her answer came.

"Looking for me, KP?" A sinister voice called from directly behind her. It sent Kim into such a state of shock that she just wanted to jump as high as the street lamps, but instead she only spun around into her fighting stance and found him; the man that everyone in Jericho was talking about.

"Agent Smith, I presume?" Kim asked, with a smirk on her face as she glared at the Agent like he was just another one of Doctor Drakken's lackeys.

"That's my name, KP." Smith said as he casually walked toward Kim.

Stepping closer, Kim felt very unnerved by him, as if he was a hurricane and Kim was just starting to feel the breeze before she would be blown away by him. Yet, the thing that frightened Kim the most about Agent Smith was how he used Ron's pet name for her. She could almost swear that it was Ron inside of the Agent's body. Smith stepped ever closer to Kim, while she could feel her body trembling and her mind trying to fight her fear of him.

"I trust everything is well between you and my other side?" Smith asked in such a casual way, like he was asking about the weather. Kim had no idea what Smith meant by his other half, but she didn't care, and in a flash of heat Kim came back to her senses. She came back to the bravery and confidence that she had when she came into the Matrix.

"You confused Ron!" She snapped at the Agent, substituting her fear with anger at this man, "And FYI…only Ron can call me KP."

"I know you for a fact just how easy it is to do that. Don't you, KP?" Smith smiled, seeing how easy it was to confuse his other half, and to pervert and shove Kim's pet name back in her face. He then reached up to the arms of his sunglasses, "And I think technically I am allowed to call you, KP."

Smith pulled off his sunglasses to look at Kim with a set of eyes that made her gasp. Within the aged and sinister features of Agent Smith's face was a pair of brown eyes. The kind that Kim had not gazed into for a single day. They were brown eyes that carried such sadness and anger, but, at the same time, they had kindness and gentleness within them. Those eyes belonged to Ron Stoppable, so Kim's fear was correct. It was Ron trapped inside Agent Smith.

"You know, KP. There's something Ron has wanted to do since the first day at High School." Smith had started taking another step towards Kim who was frozen in place by that pair of chocolate brown eyes that never broke contact with her, "Ron remembers your words by heart, Kim. _I'm a cheerleader, Ron…I…have to sit over here and you stay over there, ok? I'll meet you after class and we'll walk home._"

Kim felt shocked by what her ears had heard. When Smith spoke those words that she said to Ron all those years ago, he had done it in Kim's voice. It was the voice that Kim had back when she was a freshman in high school with braces and had gotten into the cheer squad. The very year that Kim had started her first mission and became a teen hero.

"Do you remember that, Kim?" Smith asked, his voice returning to its normal state and sounding very bitter as if Kim had done these things to him personally. Yet she remembered those eyes instantly and thought that Ron's mind must be in there somewhere beneath the exterior of the agent.

Kim did remember when she became a cheerleader, that when she became part of the squad she had made a silent ascension up the high school caste system. So, being with someone like Ron, who was at the very bottom, was practically out of the question. But, she didn't want to lose her best friend, so she had made that split between her life with Ron and her life as a cheerleader.

Kim was about to respond to the agent's question but she couldn't. She was stopped when she felt an incredible force slamming against her jaw. The force not only knocked Kim off her feet; she actually spun in mid-air as if she were in some kind of amusement park ride that was tossing her around, before she came back down to the asphalt ground. She landed face down, feeling the scrapes in her face, and then found herself spitting up blood, its coppery and salty taste filling her mouth. She could still feel the thumping and throbbing in her face from whatever hit her; it felt as if she had been hit by a Mack Truck. With the pulsing pain in her face, and the saltiness in her mouth, she got back onto her feet as Smith came up behind her.

"_Oh! Did that hurt, KP?_" Smith asked, feigning concern coated with thick sarcasm, showing no pity for the girl. "Ron felt close to what you're feeling now when he found out that there was no rule to where you were both supposed to sit. Do you remember all the times you dragged Ron shopping, Kim? Just so you could have a boy's opinion, so you could find out if Josh or some other jock or popular _jerk _liked what you wore? It felt something like…_this!"_

Smith brought his leg far back and slammed it forward straight into Kim's stomach like a football player kicking the ball as hard as he could. With that, Kim's eyes went wide as the air in her lungs was forced out in one solid burst from the kick. She rolled onto her back, desperately trying to breathe in some air back into her lungs, but instead she coughed violently as blood trickled into her windpipe.

"I…" Kim wheezed, hoping to reach some level of pity with the Ron inside Smith, "…never meant…to hurt…Ron." She continued to cough as she got back onto her knees.

"_Oh! And that's supposed to make it all better now?_" Smith smirked as he looked around and said, "Pick her up."

Kim had enough to time to wonder who he was talking to before two pairs of hands came down, wrapped themselves around Kim's arms, and lifted her up off of the ground. In her blurred sight, she looked around the parking lot to see hundreds of Smiths just pouring in from all around. Until she looked back at the Smith who had his sunglasses off; he was putting them back on and starting to crack his knuckles while he smiled at Kim with his cruel intent.

"Ron will thank me for this." He smirked

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

"Morpheus?" Ron called as he knocked on the door of Morpheus and Niobe's guest apartment in Jericho.

"Come in." Morpheus' voice rang out from behind the door.

Ron opened it and stepped into the small guest apartment of Morpheus and Niobe, which was basically the same as everybody else's in Jericho, just a simple bed, bathroom, and a couple of chairs. Ron entered and saw that Morpheus and Niobe were sitting on the bed as if it was their makeshift couch. He approached them with eyes red and puffy and a face that was raw and pink as if he had been crying recently.

"Good afternoon Ronald. Can we help you with something?" Morpheus asked from the makeshift couch.

"Have you seen KP?" Ron asked rather urgently, as if every moment he had counted upon his urgency to find Kim, "I wanted to…apologize for…ya know…going off on her like I did in the Air Filtering Station… I was just stressed from the stuff Smith told me and…Kim…has a way of pushing things…and..."

"We all understand, Ronald." Morpheus said as he got up from the bed and placed a hand on the boy's trembling shoulder, "Do you wish to talk now about what Smith spoke to you about?"

Ron took a deep breath and exhaled softly, "Yes."

Ron sat down on the bed with Morpheus and Niobe. It was as if Ron was telling something that he had been hiding from his parents and wanted to come clean about it. Then again Ron never had this kind of experience with his own parents, yet Morpheus and Niobe seemed to be like parents to both Ron and Kim. Especially during that time that they had just come out of the Matrix and were lost in the real world (or at least Kim was).

Sitting on that bed with his "acting parents", Ron "Neo" Stoppable had spilled everything that he and Smith spoke of. The Oracle's predictions that he would die within a matter of weeks, his relationship with Kim; whether it was truly real or if it was just because Ron was the One, as well as some very painful memories of their past life inside the Matrix itself. Also, the doubt that came over Ron about his life with Kim and his life as the One. He ended with the decision that would have to be made, to join Smith or pursue his present course and face death.

"And what have you decided?" Morpheus asked with a small glint of worry in his voice.

"He tried to make me look solely at Kim's faults." Ron explained, "Tried to make me think that she didn't care about me at all…I _almost_ bought into it too…"

"Almost?" Morpheus asked

"Kim Possible is…" Ron began to list off Kim's different faults on his fingers, "an obsessive, egotistical, manipulative, controlling, over-bearing, retail-crazy, occasionally holier-than-thou, impulsive bitch."

Morpheus and Niobe weren't all that surprised at the list of Kim's faults according to Ron. The two of them had a look as if they were expecting the young man to figure all of that out.

"But you know what?" Ron asked, "That's just who she is, and who she'll always be. And she's also the best friend I've ever had. Whether she first loved me because of my powers or not, I could see it today in her eyes…she _loves_ me for _me_ or else she wouldn't be trying so hard to get me to let her help. I still don't understand why she loves me, and that's one of the reasons I want to find her…but to answer your question…Smith can take his proposal and _shove it up his ass._"

"Ok, Priority One." Morpheus stated, "Finding Kimberly. Have you checked in the Neb?"

"Not yet," Ron answered, "I checked our room, then I came here."

"Let's head over there, then." Morpheus said, standing on his feet as he headed to the door with Ron, but then turned back to his wife, "Coming, Niobe?"

Niobe didn't say a word; she simply nodded, hopped off the bed, and went with Ron and Morpheus.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

It was the longest few minutes that Ron ever had to experience in his life; it was just like having to spend fifteen minutes in a dentist's chair. Time gains the consistency of salt water taffy, continually stretching on and on until it becomes ridiculous. Until, finally, Ron, Niobe, and Morpheus had arrived at the docking garage and headed straight into the Neb II, when they got there they noticed something very odd.

"The ramp is open." Ron whispered to himself before he went up the open ramp. He couldn't wait any longer and called out, "Hey Kim! You in here?"

Morpheus and Niobe followed behind and noticed the very strange situation around the Neb. The ramp was usually closed no matter what. It'd be similar to someone leaving their car door open in the middle of the parking lot. The two of them climbed up the ramp and noticed something else: a sound; a low humming like the almost inaudible sound a TV makes when it's being left on.

"Sounds like the broadcast system is running." Morpheus made his observation to Niobe, "But Link is helping out on the Leviticus…"

Further up into the ship, Ron was dashing around from room to room, trying to find Kim, his heart racing and his skin sweating, and hoping to God that he would find her. He wanted to tell her that he was so sorry for everything he said and did, that he wanted nothing more than to have her back. As he thought about all the things that he would say to Kim, he came into the Jack Chamber; in one of the chairs he could see a body with clothes that resembled Kim's.

"Kim!" Ron shouted as he dashed into the semi-circle of Jack chairs and looked at Kim in hers, but when he found her…he froze.

He looked at Kim's body; it was trembling, her hands gripping tightly onto the arm rests. There were patches of sweat around her armpits, chest, and even droplets of it coming down her face with the bangs of her hair sticking to her forehead like scotch-tape on paper. Ron knew that she was inside the Matrix, but what made his heart stop amidst his rushing was the little line of red traveling down from the corner of her lips.

"Oh no…" Ron uttered

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Kim "Angel" Possible had hit the ground in a hard thud. The battle she had was too terrible to even describe, she couldn't make any victories in it of her own. There were only casualties. Her tight leather clothes were cut and torn nearly all over her body so much that it was a wonder that it still stayed on her body. Beneath each cut in the garments was a cut or scrape or gash into the flesh were blood freely flowed. She looked out with one good eye since the other was closed shut from the swollenness that a black eye brings. She tried to get up, but she had lost so much blood that she could barely get onto her knees.

"What's the matter, KP?" A very sinister voice taunted Kim as he came closer. Kim looked up at a man in an Agent's suit, tie, and sunglasses, yet he had no earpiece. "I thought you could do _anything._"

Kim was about to answer, but she was stopped when the Agent quickly reached down for the material of her leather vest. With a force that Kim had never seen in any human being, the Agent picked her up off of the ground. She watched his face in terror as he held her there. It felt as if the Agent wanted to study her for at least a moment, as if she were a scab that was picked off a hidden place and wanted to see if before it was thrown away.

"Why he loves you, I'll never know." The Agent sneered at Kim as if she were a bug that was about to be squashed. She watched in further horror as copies of the Agent began to pour into the room, all of them gathering around the one Agent who had Kim Possible in his grasp. They watched like a crowd at the Roman Coliseum waiting for a condemned prisoner to be executed as the one Agent looked at Kim from behind his sunglasses.

"You're pathetic," he stated, grinning sinisterly at her, "You think you are this great hero because you take down some rejects from the local carnival. But you know what? You're nothing! Absolutely nothing! I mean, look at you now, KP! Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the Great Kim Possible, _she can do anything!_ Look at your bloody body trembling in fright, your green eyes wide with terror, and your lips trembling in fear! You're no hero, you're just a scared little girl who is waiting for _the One_ to come and save her! But you know what? After I brought him to realize how you've _really_ treated him, I doubt he'll ever be there to hold you in the spotlight again!"

"You don't…" Kim choked, as she spat blood from her lips, "you don't know anything about Ron!" She said her last statement as she gathered up her blood and saliva and spat in the Agent's face. It landed right on the lens of his sunglasses and Kim felt victorious for once in this: her darkest of hours.

"You'd be surprised Kimmie." The Agent stated, laughing darkly as he reached off to pull his soiled sunglasses. "Has he ever told you about his experience in your closet?" He asked as he lowered Kim down and brought his fingertips directly over her sternum as if he was about to reach in and pull her heart out, "I'd tell you to ask him, but…you're fixing to be a little occupied."

Kim didn't have time to ask, all she could do was let out a sharp and high scream as Smith's fingers plunged into her chest. From the wound came black fluid that oozed its way down Kim's body as well as around her face. This time it was no dream, this time no one would wake up, all of it was for real, and Kim could no longer fight it. She looked out with her one good eye as a tear slid down her face and over the black fluid, while her lips uttered one name as the fluid engulfed her:

"Ron…"

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4: Work It Out

**The Kimmatrix: Matrix Upgraded**

**A Fan Fiction Fusion By**

**Classic Cowboy and Turles**

**Chapter 4: Work it ****Out**

"_The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing."_

- Blaise Pascal

**110101100110100111001011011100101010110101**

"You're pathetic," he stated, grinning sinisterly at her, "You think you are this great hero because you take down some rejects from the local carnival. But you know what? You're nothing! Absolutely nothing! I mean, look at you now, KP! Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the Great Kim Possible, _she can do anything!_ Look at your bloody body trembling in fright, your green eyes wide with terror, and your lips trembling in fear! You're no hero, you're just a scared little girl who is waiting for _the One_ to come and save her! But you know what? After I brought him to realize how you've _really_ treated him, I doubt he'll ever be there to hold you in the spotlight again!"

"You don't…" Kim choked, as she spat blood from her lips, "you don't know anything about Ron!" She said her last statement as she gathered up her blood and saliva and spat in the Agent's face. It landed right on the lens of his sunglasses and Kim felt victorious for once in this: her darkest of hours.

"You'd be surprised Kimmie." The Agent stated while laughing darkly as he reached to pull off his soiled sunglasses. "Has he ever told you about his experience in your closet?" He asked as he lowered Kim down and brought his finger tips directly over her sternum as if he was about to reach in and pull her heart out, "I'd tell you to ask him, but…you're fixing to be a little occupied."

Kim didn't have time to ask, all she could do was let out a sharp and high scream as Smith's fingers plunged into her chest. From the wound came black fluid that oozed its way down Kim's body as well as around her face. She looked out with her one good eye as a tear slid down her face, while her lips uttered one name as the fluid engulfed her:

"Ron…"

Kim closed her eye as the tear ran down her face; the only thought in her mind as the black liquid engulfed her was that she would never see Ron again. Thinking about that, Kim began to regret everything that she had ever done to Ron as she fell into that darkness, as if it were a pit from which she would never return.

Then as quickly as the darkness came, it fled, and she felt herself being pulled out. Even more so she felt something pulling her up by the arms. She opened her eyes and found that she was no longer in the grip of Agent Smith. She felt shocked when she found herself flying over the parking lot to a nearby building where she was laid down upon its sandy roof. She looked up to see who it was that had saved her, but heard his voice first.

"You ok, KP?" She heard Ron's voice ask as she watched him come around so she could see her reflection in his mirror lens sunglasses.

"R…Ron?" Kim coughed weakly. She couldn't help but smile at her liberator; even though such harsh words had been exchanged, she couldn't think of anyone she wanted to see more. She tried to stay awake to tell Ron the most important words that she could think of, but her eyes closed as she fell into unconsciousness.

"It's ok now, KP. I'm going to save the day again." Ron said as he brushed back a few strands of Kim's hair. He stood up, reached into his pocket and pulled out his pet and best, non-human friend, Rufus. The naked mole rat stretched as he yawned, and then looked up at Ron, sensing the concern from him.

"Stay with her, buddy." He instructed to Rufus.

"Got it." Rufus squeaked as his paw came to his face in a small salute before he jumped out of Ron's hand and down to the unconscious Kim.

With Kim in good hands (or paws as the case may be) Ron went to the building's ledge and looked down to the warehouse parking lot where he saw the multitude of Agent Smiths. Every single copy was looking at him with such contempt and hatred, and Ron felt that déjà vu coming over him, that he had done this before, but the memory was much more solid this time. He remembered his last life and his last battle with Smith and how that battle killed his previous self.

From within the crowd of Smiths came one Smith who stood out among the crowd as the Alpha Smith so to speak. He looked up at Ron and called out to him.

"Mister Stoppable!" He shouted to the rooftop, "I see you came early! Have you thought about my offer?"

"Yes!" Ron shouted back down at the lead Smith; he clenched his fists as his own contempt for Agent Smith bubbled to the surface, "I've give it a lot of thought!" He stated as he stepped off the ledge of the building and floated down to the asphalt ground to meet with the rogue Agent.

"I think I have only one real option." Ron said as he stepped forward, taking no offensive stance against the Agent. He came to him as if he was negotiating peace between himself and the program.

"That's right." Smith smiled broadly, reaching his hand out to Ron

"So to put it simply…" Ron started, taking Smith's hand in his own in a friendly handshake. Smith grinned widely as he saw his victory was close at hand, and that's when it went down the tubes. He felt Ron's grip on his hand grow tighter until he looked up at Ron who yanked Smith's arm towards him, bringing the rest of his body up against Ron. Smith looked at Ron from behind his sunglasses and saw that he was grinning with that same level of macabre joy that Smith had had just a few minutes ago. It frightened Smith because it was so much like him and yet so much like Mister Anderson. Ron leaned over and whispered into Smith's ear, "I'm going to have to beat the shit out of you."

Ron then took the agent's arm and brought his body around into Judo throw, slamming it against the concrete. The lead Smith felt his body ache as he tried to get back to his feet, but Ron had other thoughts on his mind. He looked to the crowd of Smith copies who at first had been very confused about what had just transpired between Ron and the lead Smith. Before any of them could even collectively think about what to do next, Ron "Neo" Stoppable had dove right into the crowd. He punched, kicked, stomped, and threw every single Smith that came across his path, or, at least, the ones that were within good reach. All the while, from a distance, it looked as if a bomb had exploded sending the Smiths in every direction. Inside the crowd of Smiths, all of them felt collectively afraid because it was just like their encounter with the original Neo (Mister Anderson), yet, at the same time, it was so different.

Ron brought his hand out to reach for one of the Agents ties, as he grabbed it Ron heard Smith's Question:

"Why Mister Stoppable, why?" He asked as Ron used the tie for leverage to throw the agent across the parking lot, "I am a part of you. How can you betray yourself?"

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for punishment." Ron stated as he punched another agent directly in the face smashing his sunglasses and his nose. In fighting all those Smiths, Ron felt like one of his favorite wrestling heroes, like Steel Toe or Pain King. He even imagined the announcer calling out his name and the masses cheering for him. _One match only, Ron "Neo" Stoppable_ _verses Agent Smith and his clones, a match for the future of humanity, let's get ready to rummmmmmmmbbbbbbbbblllllllllle!_ He even began to do various wrestling moves like choke slams, head butting; he even went so far as to take one of the nearby parking meters and crack it over an Agents' heads.

He did have the power advantage, but Smith had the superior numbers. Even though Ron felt that he was winning, the number of Smiths seemed to multiply, and even with his control of the Matrix, it wasn't enough. He was only one man. That had hit him when one of the Agents had punched him in the chest and sent him flying against the nearby brick wall of the warehouse.

"Give it up, Mister Stoppable." The Agent Smiths said, the phrase echoing amongst the clones.

Ron felt his back, as well as the rest of his body, ache as he tried to get up off the concrete ground. He no longer felt like the wrestling stars that he idolized as a boy, he felt like his old self. The Ron Stoppable that he was six months ago, the one who wasn't as smart, brave or as athletic as Kim Possible, only that time getting up off the concrete, Ron knew that he was on his own. Kim couldn't save him, but Ron remembered that he promised Kim that he wouldn't be excess baggage. He got back to his feet, his body recovering from the impact against the wall. He didn't' bother dusting himself off. He needed a way to win, because he remembered how it happened last time. The last One sacrificed his life to defeat Smith and Ron knew that it was too early to give up.

He took his stance as the Smiths crowded around him. They had him against the wall with no way out and Ron did not want to run, he wanted to fight, _but how?_

"It is inevitable…" The Smiths echoed, "You will join with us…"

Hearing that phrase coming from the Smith's lips, something had occurred to Ron. It was something that was so obvious that he had wondered why he didn't think of such a thing before. The idea being if Smith was a part of him, then weren't his abilities as well? At that point Ron's head was a blank, and he acted purely upon instinct. He looked around for the nearest Agent, seeing the crowd of Smith clones and smiled.

The smile frightened the clones because they were already suspicious about what he was up to.

"If you say so, pal." Ron smiled as his hand dove right for the nearest agent, his fingers buried into his chest as if it was Play-Doh. From the wound in the agent's chest came a reflective liquid just like the kind that would come over someone when Smith took over. Except, this time, it wasn't black, the liquid that began to infect the Smith copy was a bright silver, like mercury.

"_NO!_" The clone screamed trying to break from Ron's grip as the silver fluid covered him from head to toe. It was only a half a moment later that the silver fluid began to shrink and standing in place of the Smith Clone was an exact copy of Ron. The Smith clones were shocked at what they were witnessing, their own powers being used by another.

"Dude…" Ron gazed in awe at what he had done like that very first time that he manipulated the code of the Matrix to fly and even bring Kim back to life.

"Booyah!" The Ron Clone smiled as he performed a small victory dance, which was quickly stopped when the two of them looked at the Smith clones and knowing the work they needed to do.

The original Ron clenched his hands in rage as he thought about how Smith was so close to breaking him and Kim up. As he clenched his fists, he felt a hot, itching, almost burning kind of sensation, sort of like athlete's foot, but it was in his hands. That was when they started to feel very warm like he was holding his hands close to an open fire. He looked down and was even more shocked to find his hands glowing with green flames.

"Shego?" Ron asked aloud as he looked over at his clone.

"Who would've thought?" The Ron clone shrugged as he held up his hands, igniting them with those green flames. He then turned his gaze to the crowd of Smith clones, "Want to try that again?"

"I think so." The original Ron smiled with his glowing fists ready, "Smith…you're goin' down!"

The two Ron's dashed into the awestruck crowd of Smiths. It took a few seconds for them to come to grips with what happened, but it was too late. Ron "Neo" Stoppable and his clone had taken a different approach to the fight, instead of just kicking or punching at the Smith copies, they simply converted them. Using both hands, they infected each Smith to become another Ron, the first two made four, and those six made twelve, and they made twenty-four. By the time that the number of Ron's had reached the low fifties, the Smith's began to fight back, but Ron had already taken both advantages to the fight, he already had the power advantage and had gained the number advantage. Smith couldn't even put up a decent fight anymore since he was outnumbered two-to-one, and severely out-powered as well.

Somewhere in the midst of Ron's and Smith's fighting, the original or rather the prime Smith and Ron were dueling one on one. At least Ron thought he was fighting the original Smith, but looking out amongst the crowd, he saw each one of them was just a citizen of the Matrix trapped inside the codes of Ron Stoppable and Agent Smith. The code of Smith had that sickly green color while Ron's was a bright yellow color as if it was made of light. Looking through the crowd, Ron spotted him, the one amongst the fighting copies of Ron and Smith, which did not have either code encasing him.

With the true Smith in his sight, Ron dashed out over the fighting masses to the original Smith. He closed in upon him and began his one on one duel with the rogue agent, and Smith couldn't even get a single punch at Ron.

"What's the matter Smith?" Ron asked sarcastically of the agent as he continued to slam his fists left and right at him until Ron reached out, grabbed the agent's tie, pulled him towards his face, and whispered, "Wonder what would happen if I assimilate you?"

Smith reached his hands up and snarled at Ron, "_You'll never get the chance!_"

He shoved hard against Ron, and freed himself of the One's grip.

"We'll see…" Ron replied as he smiled devilishly at Smith. He then dashed up to the Agent, his fist cocked and ready to slam. He came up under the agent, delivering a great uppercut that sent him rocketing upward as if he had on a pair of Ron's old blaster briefs. Then the gravity of the Matrix did its job and brought Smith back down to the ground to where he landed in a circle of his copies.

As Smith got back to his feet, Ron came around for the next assault. He came up to the Agent except this time instead of making a punch, Ron had crouched down and made a leg sweep. Smith had it together that time; he dodged Ron's attack, and, seeing his opportunity, Smith made a backwards kick that had hit Ron directly in the jaw, which sent him flying up and onto his back.

Ron staggered back onto his feet, feeling the numbing pain in his jaw. Getting into a crouched position, Ron dashed and performed a spear on Smith, hitting him in the stomach and tackling him to the grimy, asphalt ground. The two of them wrestled like a couple of kids fighting on the playground with all of their copies continuing to fight all around them until Ron reached up and kicked Smith off of him.

Once again Smith went up, came down, and landed on the asphalt surrounded by his copies, which got him back to his feet. He, along with his copies, looked around seeing that they were even more outnumbered than before, it went from being two-to-one to a margin of six-to-one.

The original Smith curled back his lips, baring all his teeth in rage.

"You haven't seen the last of me, Mister Stoppable!" Smith declared to the crowd of Ron copies, "Not by a long shot!" He then turned to what was left of his copies and dictated his order, "Retreat!"

Agent Smith and his clones scrambled out of the warehouse parking lot leaving behind a very proud Ron Stoppable…all of them. Each one looked at each other, feeling the pride of a job well done.

"Boo-yah!" One of the Ron's shouted out, and very soon the word echoed with each copy and flowed outward like a ripple in a pond. There was even a small breakout celebration dance, the kind of dance that Ron would do sometimes when he knew that the situation was definitely well in hand, as if to say _we're bad, you're sad…we're bad, you're sad!_ The celebration amongst Ron and his clones was brought to a grinding halt when they heard a very familiar voice.

"Oh…my…God…" The voice uttered.

The closest of the Ron's turned to see where the voice came from. The other Ron's had quickly picked up upon and turned to the same direction that the first Ron had turned. They had looked to see, standing at the edge of the crowd, Morpheus, Ghost, and Niobe. All three of them had removed their sunglasses to gain a better view of the spectacle that they were witnessing. The Ron clones were silent when they had looked to the three of them, until the first Ron who had discovered them spoke.

"Hi guys…" The first Ron smiled sheepishly as he raised his hand in a stiff wave.

Fractions of a second later the whole crowd of Ron clones repeated the first Ron's reactions. Though the reaction that they gave was like that of a stereo system, coming from all around and then ending in a slight echo with the Rons in the back finishing it off.

It was beyond anything that Morpheus had expected of Ron, in the beginning he had hoped that Ron would simply be like Neo, but looking at the forty-plus Rons, he realized that expectation was the lowest of the low. Then again, Morpheus had to remember that Kim's life was at stake; even Neo exceeded expectations when he had brought Trinity back to life.

"Where's Kim?" Niobe asked, recovering from her shock of seeing the Ron clones as she had slipped her sunglasses back on.

"Right here!" A single voice called from the crowd as they began to split and part like the Red Sea. Stepping out from the crowd of clones was a single Ron who was carrying Kim Possible in his arms. He walked up to meet with Niobe who handed Kim's limp and unconscious body over to her. Niobe took Kim into her arms, set her down on the ground, and saw how bad of shape she was in. Kim's clothes were torn, dusty, dirty, and grimy from being slammed into walls and the ground. Her face caked with dried blood that ran from her lips and the cuts in various spots, with small clean streams caused by her tears.

"Kim." Niobe called as she felt the girl's wrist and neck for a pulse…it was still there no question about it.

Kim stirred slightly, giving a slight groan as she moved her arms and legs. She opened her eyes, or at least the one eye that wasn't swollen shut from bruising. That singular green eye looked up at Niobe. It was filled with relief upon seeing the woman that Kim had come to think of as an older sister. Her cracked and bloodied lips started to move, small puffs of air coming out as she tried to speak.

"Ron…" Kim spoke with a very dry wheeze, "Is... he... al… alright?"

Niobe looked down at Kim, taking in her question and knowing full well what the answer was when she looked up and out over the crowd of Ron Stoppable clones.

"You could say that." Niobe stated to Kim rather slowly wondering how Kim would take in the events that had transpired.

Through blurred vision out of her good eye, Kim saw Niobe looking behind her. She slowly turned her head to see what was there, her head and hair scraping against Niobe's lap. At first, she couldn't see anything until her damaged vision cleared as much as was possible. Her heart was glad to see that Ron was still standing, alive and well, but then she felt confused when she saw someone else who looked exactly like Ron, even had his exact clothing. The confusion only multiplied when Kim saw another Ron, and another, and then another, until it overwhelmed her. In the back of her mind, she tried to reason that there must be something wrong with the Matrix or something was wrong with her vision. That must have been it; she thought slowly, that she was seeing multiples because of the trauma to her head. But the feeling had overwhelmed Kim Possible so much that it had overtaken her; her one, good eye rolled back into her head and she fell back into the darkness of unconsciousness.

"She's out cold again." Niobe reported to Morpheus

Though Morpheus had other issues on his mind, mainly about the situation at hand with Ron, just looking at them, the scenarios of consequences ran through his mind if no solution could be found to rectify it right away. He approached the crowd of Ron's hoping to find a quick solution to this.

"Can you…" Morpheus began, but then ran into another problem: which Ron to address, after rethinking it for a moment, he had to find the original Ron, "Which one of you is the real Ronald?"

The crowd of Ron clones began to look to one another as if not even they could find or know who the original Ron Stoppable was. Though something else happened, as the forty-plus Ron's looked at one another, smiles began to creep across their faces like children with some kind of mischievous intent in mind. From somewhere in the crowd of the Rons came a noise, it was the kind of noise that someone makes by blowing air through tight lips, the very same sound effect one makes for a beat when there's no equipment to do it. With the beat going, the crowd of Ron's began to dance in a synchronized fashion as if their minds were linked together to know what step to take next. They danced in their synchronic pattern as they began to rap together, yes; the crowd of Ron Stoppable's began to do a rap.

_I'm Ron Stoppable_

_Yes, I'm the real Stoppable_

_All you other Ron Stoppables are just imitating_

_So won't the real Stoppable please stand up?_

_Please stand up…_

_Please stand up…_

_Cause I'm Ron Stoppable_

_Yes, I'm the real Stoppable_

_All you other Ron Stoppables are just imitating_

_So won't the real Stoppable please stand up?_

_Please stand up…_

_Please stand up…_

Watching the crowd of Ron Stoppables do their oddly paced dance as they rapped, the feel of the situation became truly bizarre. Niobe and Morpheus had not a single clue of how to respond to such an event. Though Ghost on the other hand was just enamored by what he was witnessing. He remembered seeing the music video, "The Real Slim Shady" made by the rapper Eminem, how in one part he was surrounded by people who looked just like him. Seeing all those Ron's and hearing them rap like that made Ghost think that the situation had made a great leap from scary to plain ridiculous.

"This…this has to be a nightmare." Ghost thought as he widened his eyes at the crowd of rapping and dancing Ron Stoppable's.

"Ok, ok, seriously." One of the Rons said, stepping out of the crowd of clones and bringing an end to the dancing and rapping. He came up to meet the dumbfounded group and offered his solution as he took off his sunglasses. He then looked at Morpheus, Niobe, and Ghost with those chocolate brown eyes and said, "I _think_ I can fix this…"

Ron Stoppable (The original as the group had presumed) took a step back, turned to the crowd of clones, closed his eyes, and began to relax. Ron himself didn't exactly have a clear idea of what to do. Even the process where he used Smith's ability to copy himself just came to him by instinct alone or maybe it was just pure luck, just like all those times that his bumbling had helped Kim save the day. But the problem remained that he had to find a solution to this on his own.

In his mind's eye, Ron could see the Matrix around him, its code flowing over every surface, bright in highlights, and falling into darkness for the shadow. All the while he searched for an answer of how to release the people encased in his code. It felt tense…_he _felt tense…he took a very deep breath and let it out to relax as if he was trying to remember the feeling of barely coming out of a test with a C-minus.

After his last exhale, Ron felt something change around him; he looked ahead, his vision was still that of the code of the Matrix. He could see his code starting to release the people, one strand at a time as if it were the layers of an onion coming off of the core, but to the others it was very different. To the eyes of Morpheus, Niobe, and Ghost, it looked like the Ron clones were glowing. It wasn't an outward glow, more like some kind of halo for the body. It was as if the shell that was Ron was starting to crack on each of the clones, and each crack was allowing light to shine through, a bright, yellow light.

Surprisingly, none of the Ron clones that were cracking displayed any sort of pain. They seemed to accept what was happening, or at least they were anticipating it, until all of the Ron clones looked like glass that had been shattered. That was when they began to break apart, each of the Ron clones crumbling away to reveal the person that was held inside.

Each part falling away like loose icicles until they had hit the ground where they shattered into pieces of yellow code, some pieces were of his face, his arm, or perhaps a hand. It was all falling away to free the people that were once prisoners of Agent Smith and then, by the same token, prisoners of Ron Stoppable. At first the crumbling was slow but then sped up, until, one by one, the people were free.

It was incredible to the eyes of Morpheus when he and his crew were standing at the edge of that parking lot looking at forty people who were lying unconscious upon the asphalt. All of them, men, women, young, and old; it was a miracle if Morpheus were to give the event a name. He looked amongst the still bodies of the hostages to Smith, until he saw Ron "Neo" Stoppable standing in front of them, so it was him, the one who said he had the solution was the original.

Ron looked out amongst the dozens of bodies until his eyes had locked in upon one particular one. It was a woman's body with long, black, and flowing hair that obscured her face from identification. Yet, Ron knew who it was; he looked to her body and saw that green and black design it had, alternating back and forth from left to right. Ron smiled when he made the connection.

"Like I thought," He giggled to himself, "I was Shego…wait…"

He looked down at Shego, giving a little more thought to the actual ramifications of having Shego within him or that Shego was a part of him. The very thought made his skin crawl. It was because of the simple idea that Shego had become Ron.

"Now…that's sick…and wrong!"

Ghost had brought himself out of the shock that he had just been in, going from being blown away by Ron versus Smith's army, to the Ron clones doing their rendition of "The Real Slim Shady" and finishing by the clones release of the people they inhabited. Ghost had put his sunglasses back on and slowly approached Ron who was looking at the people lying on the asphalt parking lot.

"Are they…ok?" Ghost had asked nervously

"They'll be alright." Ron answered as he turned around to face his crewmates, "But I think they're gonna have the hangover from hell when they wake up."

He looked over at Niobe who was kneeling down with the beaten up Kim Possible in her arms. Silently, Ron came over to Niobe, who knew full well what Ron wanted. She picked up Kim in her arms and handed her limp body to Ron knowing that she was all of Ron's reasons for being here and that was all that mattered to him. Slowly, Ron slipped his arms under Kim's body and felt the weight of her body as Niobe slipped out her arms from under Kim completing the transfer.

Ron looked down at Kim, seeing how fragile and helpless she was despite all of her efforts to be the strong woman that she wanted to be. He cradled Kim's unconscious body, his forehead pressed against hers, and he whispered something that only he could hear.

"And I have her." He whispered, "I have Kim back."

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Kim had opened her eyes to such blurry vision, that the interior of the Neb was fuzzy globules of gray and black. It wasn't the fact that her vision was blurry that caught Kim's attention. It was the fact that she could see out of both of her eyes when she could distinctly remember that in her fight with Smith, one was swollen shut.

She tried to move the rest of her body, but every single muscle ached with such pain. She hurt in places she didn't think it was possible to hurt in. The pain made her close her eyes once again, and when she opened them again, she looked to see something that was a shade of pink combined with yellow. It was hovering over her like a light fixture in a dining room. She made herself blink a few more times until the blurs came back into focus. The blurs of gray and black became the walls and ceiling of the Neb II and the blurs of pink and yellow were Ron Stoppable. She moved her eyes around since her neck hurt too much to move, and she saw that she was surrounded by Morpheus, Niobe, Ghost, Link, and Ron. She looked back up at the blonde man standing over her.

"Ron…I…" Kim tried to give her reasons for her actions, but her throat felt very dry and cracked with a very nasty taste in her mouth, like morning breath or something. Before she could utter another word, Ron threw his arms around Kim and laid his head against her shoulder. Within their confinement, Kim could feel the expression of Ron's face against her neck and shoulders. She could feel the heat against her cool skin and what was more, she could feel hot wetness, and she knew right away that Ron was crying. His arms were around her so tight that she was starting to find it hard to breathe.

"Damn it, Kimberly Anne Possible." Ron growled as he cried into Kim's ear. "Don't you _ever,_ EVER do that to me _again,_ do you hear me?"

"Ronald," Morpheus commanded calmly of Ron, "She needs air to explain her actions."

Ron instantly let go of Kim, dried his tears and stepped back from Kim's jack chair. Morpheus then stepped up beside Kim and looked down at her with a scolding expression on his face. Kim knew that look; her father gave her that very look whenever he said her full name as Ron had just done.

"Ok, Kimberly." Morpheus began. His voice was calm but still carrying that stern command, "Would you care to explain why you foolishly entered the Matrix alone and without an operator, thus disregarding your training?"

Kim looked up at Morpheus and started to think of her explanation as well as counter arguments. She did go into the Matrix alone, but it was because there were so many reasons to do it. After all, it wasn't exactly her idea; it was Josh's in the first place.

"I admit I was in alone, but I had an operator." She said as she looked around still feeling the confusion and disorientation, "Where is Josh? I lost contact with him when I went in."

As the crew looked around, a voice came out from behind some of the wires and pipes within the Jack Chamber.

"I'm over here." The voice groaned.

Niobe went over and pulled out the groaning person, she picked him up and brought him over to the Jack Chamber to be questioned by Morpheus. They looked to see that it was Josh "Ares" Mankey.

"Sir." Josh addressed Morpheus, "I think someone got the drop on me, what happened?"

"We were about to ask you the same question." Morpheus asked intensely.

"I don't know." Josh explained as he started to rub the back of his head with the expression of pain on his face, "I was monitoring Kim when she went into the Matrix, and then someone hit me in the back of the head. Next thing I knew, I was listening to you guys talking."

Morpheus narrowed his eyes, "This is not good. That could mean he's already out. If Smith has already assimilated someone that was freed from the Matrix, then he can exit and take over their bodies in the real world." He explained to the younger members of his crew, the ones who weren't there for the last war when this event had happened.

As the rest of the crew had heard this before; they felt shocked and a real sense of danger in the air. Not the kind that they had before where they felt that Ron would come and save the day, this was a true danger. In the real world, everything wasn't as easily done as it was in the Matrix. Kim and Ron looked at each other, very shocked by the prospect of Agent Smith walking among them in a human body, while Josh Mankey covered his mouth when he heard this news. Though he only covered his mouth to hide the smile that had crept up onto his face.

"Yes, that would be a terrible thing." He said, sounding very concerned, even with that smile behind his hand.

"Niobe, Ghost, Link, Joshua." Morpheus stated in his commanding voice, "Go and alert all the commanders in Jericho."

"Yes, sir." Link spoke for the group as the four of them left the Jack Chamber of the Neb-two to go alert the people in charge of Jericho.

"Ronald," Morpheus commanded Ron's attention, "Kimberly has had a great ordeal; take her to your guest quarters and let her rest. Besides, I have a hunch that you both have issues to work out. This would be an excellent opportunity for that."

"Yes, sir." Ron said with a slight smile coming to his face.

Morpheus looked at Kim who still sat in her Jack Chair; he had a little more to deal with as far as she was concerned. He walked up to the Jack Chair and stared down at Kim with a neutral look on his face but still with such a glare of frigidity in his eyes. It was the kind of look that Kim remembered her father having during the Halloween incident.

"Kimberly." He said very coolly to her, "I will let you off this one time with this warning: if you ever…_ever_ enter the Matrix alone and without permission again, I will have you removed from my crew without hesitation, is that understood?"

"Y…yes, sir." Kim acknowledged, she wanted to drop her head in shame but it was hard to do that when she was laid back in her Jack Chair. So, all she could do was look straight back at her captain.

"I did not hear that." Morpheus said with such iciness that it sent chills up and down Kim's spine.

"Sir, Yes, sir!" Kim said louder, her loud tone hurting her dry throat.

"That's better." Morpheus nodded coldly, "Dismissed."

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Over the black and scarred ruins of the Earth, the hover ship _Mad Dog_ was slowly cruising along towards their target objective. They knew that they were coming close to enemy territory so Captain Steve 'Kid' Barkin ordered that they fly on as few pads as possible. Basically the Mad Dog was flying along with only its bottom hover pads on, so it wouldn't alert the machines. Then again the first part of the week long flight they flew "full steam ahead" sort to speak, but when it came to the machine city, Zero One Two, it was best to be cautious. It had taken them a full day to get as far as they had, but the wait before they reached the point that was in their briefing was becoming unbearable for them.

On the bridge, Steve "Kid" Barkin was at the pilot's chair keeping a good firm grip on the controls, making sure that nothing would set off the sentinels. He couldn't remember the last time that he had been this tense, certainly in the past, but all of that was inside the Matrix. The times in the real world were ten times worse. He could feel his own sweat becoming an adhesive between himself and his seat, despite how cold it was on the bridge. With him at the helm was Bonnie "Tres" Rockwaller and Brick "Tater Salad" Flagg.

"How far, Tres?" Barkin asked, keeping an eye on the radar.

"Should be right over that horizon, sir." Bonnie reported.

With that report, Barkin reached for the COM microphone, "Napster," He called, "Activate the stealth system."

"Roger that." Dr. "Napster" Possible responded over the COM.

Within seconds, the Mad Dog was cloaked, thanks to the new prototype stealth system that "Napster" had developed for the ship. The stealth basically made the ship invisible the machines' detection methods; the only problem was that it consumed a great deal of power, thus another reason why they had approached Zero One Two on only their bottom pads. With the cloak activated, Barkin once again reached for the COM microphone.

"Napster," He called, "How much time before power runs out?"

There was a moment of silence, no doubt Mr. Possible was calculating the amount of time that they had before they would run out of power, so that they could gather as much information as they could and head back.

"At our current rate of power," Napster reported, "We have about 20 hours left."

"Roger that." Barkin acknowledged, "Return to the bridge"

A minute later, "Napster" and "Kazaa" Possible returned to the bridge to be with the rest of their crewmates. All five of them looked out over the rising hill with the sparking lightning in the dark clouds above them, and the black, scorched earth beneath them. In coming up to the crest of the hill, they slowed down just a tad so that they could assess what was at the bottom, that place that was the source of that signal. As they came to the top, they could feel something sinister taking place.

"There's something there." Napster Possible stated as the Mad Dog reached the top of the hill and the crew looked down to the valley to see what was there. What they had discovered was something that put the greatest of frights into all members of the Mad Dog, even the most seasoned and battle ready Steve "Kid" Barkin could feel his insides shiver when he looked out into the valley of the machines.

Below the Mad Dog, there were sentinels, thousands, perhaps millions of them. All of them scrambling and climbing over one another with their mechanical squid-like arms, each of them on top of one another like ants in a colony. They covered the entire valley floor to such thickness that it looked like a sea of metal and metallic arms that scrambled, reached, waved, and climbed as far as the eye could see. Yet, dotting random areas in the valley of scrambling sentinels, there were larger machines that they were constructing, yet their shapes were very familiar, they were simply large, circular, metallic lumps in the sea of sentinels. Yet as the crew of the Mad Dog looked closer at one of them, they saw something even more familiar: one of the circular lumps had…eyes…red eyes that dotted its face like those of a spider, each opening and closing at random times. The lump with all those red eyes seemed to look out across the sea of sentinels like some kind of monster out of a children's story ready to spring and kill whatever it could land whatever kinds of hands it had on them. Even those eyes seemed as though they were looking directly into the bridge of the Mad Dog, to see the petrified and frightened looks on the Mad Dog crews' faces.

"W…w…what…are they?" Brick asked fearfully, never taking his eyes off of those red monstrous and blinking eyes of that metallic lump.

"It must be a sentinel." Barkin answered confidently as he tried to dismiss his fear of the creation in the sea of sentinels.

"Ron…" Bonnie whimpered slightly, never in her life did she want Ron so badly, but not for any other reason than to protect her from the monsters that were just outside the Mad Dog's windows. "Y…you said that he could…s…stop those things, right?"

"Neo could." Barkin said as he took a good hard gulp, looking out at the monstrosities, "But I'm not sure…with…this many…and these new ones…they're not the Sentinels I remember."

"Do we have a count?" Kazaa Possible asked trying to set aside her fear as well.

This was the only time that Brick was able to break his eye contact with the metallic monsters outside the window. He turned to his console and began making a radar assessment of the sea of sentinels. It took a little while for the results to come back, not only did the onboard radar have to count the larger sentinels that were out there, but the multitude of Sentinels that were…possibly constructing them.

The results came back, and Brick read his screen:

Sentinels: 9,000,000,000

Unknown machines: 12,560

"This…" Brick uttered, "This can't be right…it just _can't_ be…" He said that last sentence with such fear and panic that he was desperately trying to keep the controls from slipping out of his hands.

"How many, Tater?" Barkin asked

"Twelve…." Brick gulped, trying to get over the reality of what his screen told him, "Twelve thousand five hundred sixty of these new machines."

Barkin was silent for a moment then told his crew what needed to be done about this, "We need to warn someone who can do something about this." He stated, "Where's the Nebuchadnezzar Two?"

"Scanning now." Bonnie stated as she desperately and nervously tapped her controls with jittery fingers after witnessing the horror that was out there. As she made her scans she tried not to look up so she wouldn't inadvertently look out the window. At least until her scan results came back, "Scans show the Neb Two is in radio range; it's docked at Jericho."

"Let's get our asses over there." Barkin stated, "Tres, back us off, nice and slow. Once were at the bottom of the hill, set a course for the Jericho canal."

"Aye, sir." Bonnie "Tres" Rockwaller acknowledged as she took the controls and very slowly backed the Mad Dog down the hill that they had climbed.

"Napster," Barkin ordered, "once we're out of range of the Sentinels scans, deactivate the stealth system."

"Yes, sir." Napster saluted and headed down to the engine room where the controls for the stealth system were located.

"Kazaa," Barkin commanded, "Once the stealth is off, set full power to the pads and full speed to Jericho."

"Aye-aye, sir." Mrs. Kazaa Possible agreed as she sat in the last of the four empty seats on the Mad Dog Bridge, where the power controls were at.

"Tater," Barkin called, "When we're on our way to Jericho, made contact with the Neb Two, we need to arrange a Meeting."

"You got it, sir." Brick "Tater Salad" Flagg smiled as he sat at his console

Slowly but surely the Mad Dog backed down the hill and headed Northeast towards the city of Jericho, wishing only that they could go faster, but knowing they couldn't. There was too much to risk, especially with the knowledge of the billions of sentinels that were working on their new machines a few miles away.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Back inside the city of Jericho, Ron "Neo" Stoppable, was carrying Kim "Angel" Possible back to the small apartment that they shared. It was odd to Ron that he never considered himself to be physically strong (at least outside the Matrix), but there he was carrying Kim with no trouble at all. Still, the events of the day were still hanging like the stench of burnt sugar in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more his stomach turned. During that whole time, neither Kim nor Ron had said a single word to one another. Even when Ron came to the door, opened it with Kim still in his arms, and carried her in like a groom bringing in his new bride. He brought Kim over to the bed that used to be theirs, the place where they could be in each others arms, until yesterday. As Ron laid Kim down upon the bed, the silence was too much for either of them, and it was only after Ron sat down carefully next to Kim that they looked at one another.

"We need to talk." They said in unison, at first they paused but then did it again, "You first."

They looked at one another with a sense of being dumbfounded about both of them coming to the same conclusion at the same time. It was only after another half a minute of silence that one of them had decided to give it another shot.

"Ok, I'll go first." Kim volunteered, but before she went on she reached for Ron's hand, with all the strength she had in her sore body she squeezed it. Ron looked over at Kim who was asking something of him with her eyes, those emerald eyes that pleaded with him, "Please, hear me out before commenting, ok?"

Ron couldn't break his contact with those eyes, and so he only nodded his reply to Kim. After seeing Ron's reply, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before beginning.

"You were right," Kim stated sadly as her green eyes looked away from Ron, "And Smith was right…I don't deserve you. I _never_ deserved you."

Ron opened his mouth to try to counter Kim's statements; after all, coming so close to losing her had made Ron re-examine some of the issues in his mind. But before he could utter his counter comment, Kim had already anticipated him and cut him off.

"I said, _hear me out,_ Ron." She reiterated as she squeezed Ron's hand a little tighter, "You were right that I…I never treated you as a partner…or as a best friend…I took advantage of your faithfulness and hurt you more times then I realized. I…don't deserve you…, but I'm willing to do something I swore I'd never do for anyone: beg. Last night…was…was horrible. It was the first time that I've slept outside your arms in months…_I hated it_…_I don't want that anymore_."

Ron's heart began to sink when those words sank into his mind. Even more so, he could feel his heart ache in pain when he saw the tears building up in the corners of Kim's jade eyes. He had never wished harder for a single day to never have happened than yesterday, or none of what happened would have happened in the first place. Silently, he cursed himself for even going along with Smith to hear his words.

"I want to ask if we can wipe the slate clean." Kim asked, her voice slightly cracking as the tears slowly rolled down her face and she sniffled between each heartfelt phrase, "No…I want to _beg_ if we can…I used to say I was _independent…_and proud of it, but you know, Ron…I never was. You have been with me since day one…and when I thought….when I thought that you were going to leave me…I didn't want you to leave me, Ron. _I love you so much!_ I need you with me. So here I am…"

To Ron's surprise, Kim began to move again, at first she sat up on the bed, and then brought her legs around. With each move that she made, Ron could see the enormous amount of pain that it had caused her. Despite the pain, Kim still continued, setting both feet on the floor next to the bed as she got up.

"_Kim, you shouldn't…"_ Ron advised her.

"Please, Ron…" Kim asked, "Let me do this…"

With that, Kim stood up, still hunched over and her face displaying such pain that Ron had yet to see another person in his life endure. Yet, he expected Kim to stand fully up, but she didn't, she softly fell to her knees as if she were to pray, but she inched her way over to Ron. She placed her hands upon his thighs and looked up at him; her eyes suffering so much pain of her body and her heart.

"Please, Ron." She begged on her knees in front of Ron, "_please__, forgive me…for everything…"_

Ron could not believe what he had witnessed; not even the amazing acts that he had done inside the Matrix could compare to the act that Kim had done right then. He had seen Kim do so much in her life inside the Matrix, yet, when it came to the most humble of activities, Kim was like metal, unbendable. She was the kind of woman who never begged for anything, at least not without using the "puppy dog pout", but this was genuine. He reached out for Kim's hands upon his thighs, took them into his, and looked up at Kim. He had to get a few things off his chest too.

"Um…" He began trying to figure out how to break what he had to say to her even as he looked down at his hands that held hers, "Kim…I've got a confession to make…I heard what Smith said about my…_closet experience._ There's…something you should know about that…"

"I…" Kim said as she felt herself to be slightly confused but curious, "I was wondering about that too…"

"Do you remember your birthday last year?" Ron asked, still avoiding eye contact with Kim who was starting to blush at the memory of that birthday. Yet, her concern was still present when she heard the sadness in Ron's voice when he mentioned that event.

"Yes…" She said blushing some more slightly, "I remember it…It was the night that Josh and I…well you know…"

Ron nodded slightly, "Yes, I know." He responded, still refusing to bring his head up to look at Kim, "But do you remember...what you did every night of your birthday…every year before?"

It wasn't that hard for Kim to remember, "During the day, my family and you would get together for my birthday and then…and you would come over with a cake…we talk all night and…Ron where are you going with this?"

Ron gulped as he mustered his courage to tell the secret, and Kim could see a slight tear roll down from his eyes to the tip of his nose. "I was in your closet…" he forced it out of himself, "I had a two person sized chocolate cake with vanilla icing…_your favorite…_"

That was when Kim had made the connection surrounding that night, even though it was so magical with how Josh took her virginity; there was that cake that was on the kitchen counter. It had the phrase, "Happy Birthday, Kim" written across it. Yet it had little dents in the icing as if something very small had been dropped into the icing.

"Oh Ron…" Kim uttered as the pieces came together in her mind. She pulled her hand away from Ron's grasp and covered her mouth in the shock of what she had realized. She didn't want to hear what she knew from Ron's lips but she couldn't stop him.

"I was about to jump out and say _surprise_ but then I saw Josh through the cracks," Ron began the story, "I saw…I saw you…and him, kissing…and then…the clothes came off…and you…you started to…and he…and then…" He tried to force out the sentences but the memory was so painful and tender like a war wound the refused to heal itself. His sentences became more broken up when he tried to hold back the tears and began to sniffle between each utterance. "I looked away…but just hearing it…hearing it…almost killed me…_please…please_ don't be made at me, KP….I…I…didn't mean to intrude, but…_what was I supposed to do?"_

Ron took a couple of short sniffles as he reached up to brush away the tears, trying to remain strong in front of Kim. Yet, Kim couldn't stop herself. Her heart shattered when she heard the truth about that night; she knew then what those dents in the cake were. They were holes made by Ron's tears as he sat in that closet hearing Josh and her making love.

"_Oh, God…Ron…_" She cried as she rested her head into Ron's lap, her body trembling as she wept, "_Please…please tell me…you didn't have feelings for me then…please…"_

Ron took a couple of hard sniffles, "I don't know…but was that before or after I hit puberty?" He had tried to sound like his old self with his joking around, but it didn't seem to work as well in the case that he and Kim were in.

"_Oh Ron, I'm so sorry…_" Kim cried looking up at Ron, her eyes slightly red from her tears, "I should have thought…_I should have known you'd be there…oh God, I'm so sorry__"_

Even with all that pain inside his heart and his eyes burning from his own tears, Ron looked at Kim, who seemed like an absolute mess with her hair in her face and her eyes red. He reached over and brushed those loose strands of hair out of her face to look at her with new eyes, that he wouldn't have very much time in the real world.

"It's ok, Kim." Ron said, sounding calm even with the sadness piercing through him, "at least I know you'll be taken care of…"

"What?" Kim asked, allowing Ron to brush the hair out of her face.

"What the Oracle told me," Ron began with a great sigh, "She told me about what would happen to you. She said that…after I…_die_…you'll get back with your true love…have a family…and live happily ever after. Seeing as Josh was your first…I would assume he would be…"

"No!" Kim defied as she quickly stood back up on her feet, blocking out every ounce of pain that was caused by her movements.

Ron glanced up at her, seeing the denial in her eyes, yet he knew that the Oracle couldn't have been wrong, if she was right about he and Kim. He, on the other hand, had accepted his fate; he would die within a matter of weeks, and the sands of time were running against him.

"Kim…" Ron began trying to get her to see his point of view, "I'm going to be gone soon…you should realize…"  
"_Ron, shut up! Just shut up!" _She screamed, glaring down at Ron. She wished that it wasn't true, that Ron wouldn't truly be gone. She refused to believe it, "Ron, _you were _my first time, my first, _real_ time…me and Josh…just happened in a funky sixteen year dream. It _wasn't real!_ But this is, Ron."

Looking at Ron with those large, chocolate brown eyes, Kim felt so confused, she was sad, outraged, spiteful, and in love. Her heart came flying back up into her chest when she dove for Ron, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his and forcing her tongue into his mouth.

At first Ron felt shocked, it was déjà vu all over again, but this wasn't to his previous life as the last One, this was only months ago during the Moodulator event. The very first time that Kim had kissed him, at first Ron was shocked, but then it was such a great feeling with those lips pressed against his and her arms around him, that it was like being near a warm fire after coming in from a cold winter's day. It was so warm and inviting that Ron simply let go and embraced it, and that was how it was in their apartment in Jericho: first shock, but then embracement. All that pain, sadness, grief, anger, and bitterness seemed to vanish with that simple kiss. Ron reached up and embraced Kim as they continued their kiss; he even reciprocated it with as much fervor as Kim had.

The kiss had lasted for about two minutes before the two of them broke the kiss and looked to one another. They could see that they had that renewed glow about them, the glow of someone who was in love. It seemed so bizarre that it was only that morning there was hatred and resentment that would rival that of warring countries, and then, on their bed, they seemed to set it all aside.

"So does this mean you forgive me?" They asked together in unison

They both giggled seeing as how they did that again, how they were able to say the very same thing at once. It was like the two of them had that bond that was unspoken, the one that a lot of people talk about when they say that they've met their "soul mate". The kinds of things that are heard about so often, but really are hardly ever seen in real life, but there it was for Kim and Ron, sitting and staring them right in the face.

Ron and Kim answered their own question after their small laughter with another kiss, but with that second one, they began to lie back on their bed; yes it was theirs once again. Even though it was only one day since they had spent that night in each others arms, it had felt like those hours were years. As they lay back on the bed, Kim grimaced a bit when Ron touched her.

"Ouch, Ron." She laughed, "I'm still sore, so please be gentle with me."

Ron didn't answer, he simply laughed, as he lay on top of Kim, kissing her lips, and then moving to her cheeks and down her neck where his hands were starting to work on their own. The two of them had been brought back into their own world, the world that all lovers go to. A world in which there was no one else but themselves, nothing else mattered to them, but it was a dangerous time for that. Especially when at the door, which was opened just a crack, there was someone there watching the whole affair.

It was Josh "Ares" Mankey who had watched the whole affair; the fight, the argument, and the make-up with them kissing and pulling each other's clothes off.

"Very well, Mister Stoppable." Josh whispered with his evil intent, "Enjoy the happiness while it lasts…because I'm going to enjoy watching you die…"

With that he got up and left the doorway allowing the two lovers to reconcile themselves in each other's arms with their clothes flying off in different directions from the bed.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Inside the Matrix, a few hours after the reconciliation of Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, in the town of Middleton, Colorado, a black sedan was rolling down the residential streets of one of its many neighborhoods. It came up the driveway of Possible family home, doors opening, and passengers stepping out.

The passengers of the black sedan were Morpheus, Ghost, and Niobe, all dressed in their typical Matrix clothes; Morpheus in his black alligator skin trench coat opened just enough to see the shirt and tie of his suit along with his armless, oval lens sunglasses. Niobe in her deep red leather jumpsuit that was unbuttoned to show the skin of her neck and chest. Last of all, but not least, there was Ghost who was dressed simply in a tie-less suit and its shirt unbuttoned.

The three of them walked up to the front door of the Possible home with Morpheus in the lead as the leader of this pack. He brought out his hand to ring the door bell and within a matter of seconds, the door opened to reveal Mrs. Kazaa Possible, who wasn't exactly in her Matrix clothes, but rather in her doctor's uniform, which was basically just a white lab coat. She looked up at the trio and her face lit up as if it was the highest point of her entire day.

"Morpheus!" She exclaimed with a small tinge of relief in her voice, "I am so glad that you arrived so quickly. Come in, come in."

As the trio came in, Mrs. Possible looked outside the black sedan to see that no one else was out there.

"Where are Ron and Kimmie?" She asked Morpheus

"They'll be along." Morpheus responded as he reached up to the bridge of his sunglasses and took them off, "they were…indisposed…"

As the trio came into the Possible family living room, they caught the sight of the two little boys watching television, a program of the GWA, Steel Toe vs. Pain King. It did make the three of them silently chuckle since they knew that both Steel Toe and Pain King were back in Neo Zion and that they still made appearances in the Matrix purely for the fun of being in the wrestling league.

"Hello boys." Morpheus called out to Jim and Tim

The boys looked over at the trio and immediately got off of the couch and came up to meet them. It could have been out of politeness to meet them, or it could have been said that they just wanted to get a better look at the clothes that Morpheus, Niobe, and Ghost were wearing.

"You're the person who works with our mom?" Time asked with curiosity, but he asked in a way that seemed a little devoid of all emotion.

"You could say that." Morpheus smiled at the boys.

"We'll leave you alone." Jim stated with that same lack of any emotion whatsoever.

"Yes, we shall." Tim added, "We do not wish to disturb you."

"No, we do not." Jim finished

"Good day." The two of them finished before walking up the stairs towards their room.

There was a moment of silence, but Ghost was not one to stay silent about something like this.

"Now that was weird." He commented.

"The boys have been acting strange lately." Mr. Possible added as he came into the family room. He walked up to the foot of the stairs looking up towards the door to Jim and Tim's room as he stroked his chin pondering upon the mystery of this. After all, Jim and Tim were never that calm when company came, they were usually the very curious types, but they only asked one question. If they were acting normally they would have been asking dozens of questions to Morpheus, Niobe, and Ghost all at once. He turned to the others and gave his theory about it, "They probably did something and acting polite to get out of it. We've seen it before. Anyway, Captain Barkin and the others are on the patio, shall we?"

Morpheus nodded and he, Niobe, and Ghost followed Mr. And Mrs. Possible through the simple and elegantly designed Possible family home to the backyard where there was a small barbeque going on. Mr. "Napster" Possible went to the barbeque where there were cooking, sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, and some chicken wings. The aroma of mesquite and barbeque sauce filling the air of the backyard, the kind that irritated the back of the throat but was so tangy and spicy that one could never get enough of it. At a picnic table, there was the crew of the Mad Dog: Steve "Kid" Barkin who sat patiently waiting for the meat to be cooked so that the mission briefing could begin. Brick "Tater Salad" Flagg who was listening to a small headset that he made Sparks, his ship's operator, give him since they knew it would be a bit of a wait. Mrs. "Kazaa" Possible was setting up napkins and paper plates for the barbeque and, of course, Bonnie "Tres" Rockwaller, who was sitting at the edge of the picnic table reading a book that had a blank purple cover and was giggling as she read further into it. The new arrivals, Morpheus, Niobe and Ghost took their seats at the picnic table as Mr. Possible was continuing to watch the meat on the grill.

"Shall we get started with this briefing?" Barkin asked.

"Let's wait for Ron and Kimmie to get here." Mrs. Possible asked of her captain.

"Very well."

"Don't worry, Kid." Morpheus said to Barkin, "Neo and Angel will be arriving shortly." As he said that, he looked upward to the sky and smiled, "Speak of the devils."

All eyes looked up to the sky where they saw a small black dot flying around amongst the clouds over Middleton. To their eyes, it was as a fly that was buzzing around a few inches from their face, but they knew better than that as the black dot came down faster and faster to the ground. Such speed was behind it that it was actually causing a funnel shape in the clouds. Within a matter of seconds, they knew who was coming. Ron "Neo" Stoppable was rocketing down towards them, but, as he came within a hundred yards of the Possible home, he slowed himself down and floated to the ground. He came down with the grace of an ice skater, making his landing upon the soft, green grass with Kim "Angel" Possible in his arms. With Ron on the ground, Kim was set down on her feet, but the thing that had caught Kim's parents' attention was the look on their faces.

Both Ron and Kim had looks as if they were both genuinely happy, but even more so, they were genuinely happy _together._ It was seeing them together in such a way that made Mrs. Possible come to the side of her husband to see if he saw the same thing that she was seeing.

"Our daughter is _glowing…_" Mr. Possible hissed in a whispered voice to his wife. Though Mrs. Possible only gripped his arm and smiled back at him.

"She _loves_ him." She whispered back as Mr. Possible continued to turn over the meat even though he did so just seconds ago, "Besides it's Ron. Didn't you say, a long time ago, that he was your pick?"

She was right. Mr. Possible did say that if Kim had chosen Ron, it would have been much better than just 'some boy', as he liked to put it. Then again, Mr. Possible was never one to be that excited when it came to Kim and boys. After all during the "Animalogy" craze when Kim found out that she was a Blue Fox and that it's soul mate is the Yellow Trout, he had said "I think Kim is a little young to be looking for a 'soul mate' or any kind of mate." Still, that statement remained in his mind that he liked Ronald better than all the other guys. He was a good kid, kind of like how he, himself, was back in his youth.

As Mr. Possible continued to work the meat on the grill, the crews of the Mad Dog and the Neb Two sat down at the picnic table. The air thick with anticipation as to why they were there, but it had to be important or Barkin wouldn't have called for the meeting in the first place.

"Ok people, listen up." Barkin stated, sounding just like his old self when he was the substitute principle of Middleton High, "Now that we're all here, we've got something big to talk about."

"What is it, Kid?" Morpheus asked

"It works out like this…" Barkin began. He laid out the printed scans thanks to the computer transfer of the data that they had collected into Matrix code. He laid them down on the picnic table between the paper plates on both sides. He showed them all what he and his crew had seen outside of the machine city Zero One Two. A sea of Sentinels building some kind of new "super sentinel" as Barkin called them since they were approximately four times the size of a normal sentinel, and what made it worse was the number of them. When Barkin had reported the number of them to the members of the Neb Two crew, there was a hushed silence for them all with only the sound of the meat sizzling on the barbeque in the air.

"How long 'til they're ready?" Morpheus asked

"They should be ready in approximately two weeks, give or take a day." Barkin reported the estimation.

At the sound of that, it dawned upon Ron that what the Oracle had told him was definitely coming true. That he would die within a matter of weeks, and it seemed that the harbingers were these super sentinels.

"So that's how I'm going to buy it, huh?" Ron asked aloud, but with that question, his hand was squeezed to the point of becoming painful. He looked over to the person that was doing it, Kim, who looked at him, telling him with her eyes that everything was going to be alright.

"You don't know that, Neo." Morpheus stated to the frightened teen, "The Oracle could have meant what she said in some sort of symbolic sense. There is no reason to panic."

Ron nodded as Kim leaned over and wrapped her arm around his left shoulder and rested her head against his right one. As she did, under the cover of the red and white checkered table cloth, Kim's hand sneaked it's way over Ron's thigh and into his crotch. With her hold over that area, Ron looked at Kim trying not to smile too much, but it felt so good to him. Still, they were in public and in front of her parents as well.

"Not here, Kim." Ron whispered and silently thanked God that her parents were over at the barbeque and didn't suspect that Kim was trying to cop a feel.

"So…who wants some barbeque?" Mr. "Napster" Possible asked

All eyes of the Mad Dog and Neb Two crews looked at Mr. Possible as if he had lost his mind. They had just found out that the machines were making some kind of horrible new weapon and yet here was a man asking if anyone wanted grilled meat. Seemed to be an odd way to react to such a dire situation at hand, but then again everyone has their own way of coping with it.

Ghost certainly proved this.

"Hey, hook me up with two hotdogs." He spoke up

Then the shocked looks of both crews changed from Mr. Possible to Ghost. He looked at them as if they were the crazy ones about such a situation.

"What?" He asked, "Who doesn't like hotdogs?"

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

The crews of the Nebuchadnezzar Two and the Mad Dog both ate their meals and talked amongst each other about different subjects. Though it was anything but the briefing that Captain Barkin had given them, after all why dull such a wonderful June day with talks of the impending doom brought by the machines. Still, it was odd how they were reacting to this; after all, they knew that the meat and other things that they were eating wasn't real. They knew that as they were eating them, the Matrix was sending impulses to their brains telling them that the meats were tangy, sweet, and delicious. Then again, that sure as hell beat that white goop that they had to eat every single day in the real world.

Though Kim and Ron never left each other's sides when they were eating their food, but Ron was a little distracted since there was something else on his mind. It was something that arose during his reconciliation with Kim, during their fullest and sweetest act of love. The kind that neither one of them had experienced since their first time, so filled with passion. Ron had to talk with someone. He looked at Kim who was sitting on his lap in one of the lawn chairs as if she were showing off saying, _Ron is my man and no one else can touch him._

"What's up, Ron?" Kim asked as she set down her paper plate.

"KP." Ron began with his girlfriend/lover, "I'll be right back, I have to talk to someone."

"The Oracle, again?" Kim asked rather surly.

"No."

"Ok then." Kim smiled, "I won't ask who because I bet it's a surprise." With that she got up off or Ron's lap and went over to talk to someone else there, perhaps Niobe or someone. As she did, Ron looked over and saw that Kim's parents were wrapping up their discussion with Barkin and Morpheus. As the two pairs parted company, Ron immediately got up off of the lawn chair and went over to them.

As Ron went over, Kim was looking for someone to speak to, but that was when something had caught her eye. She looked over at Bonnie and saw a book in her hands, at first she wondered what she could be reading, but then she looked closer at the book's cover and saw how familiar it was. When she came closer and saw that the book had no title, just a purple cover; that was when Kim narrowed her eyes at Bonnie who was very deeply into what she was reading.

"Hey! _That's my diary!_" Kim growled at the giggling brunet

Then, as they say in the Olympics, the games had begun. Bonnie took her firm grip upon the purple, imitation leather bound book and began to run all over the backyard with Kim following in hot pursuit. The two of them exhibited their Matrix moves with running up the exterior walls of the house and making high and long jumps over the picnic table.

"Kim! I never would have guessed!" Bonnie laughed, trying to keep her energy to run from her redheaded nemesis.

"Shut up!" Kim shouted at Bonnie, trying to gain an upper hand in her chase against her.

"But…the thought of you…" Bonnie panted.

"I said _shut up!_"

Bonnie was laughing as she ran, "Purple?"

"_Bonnie! Shut up!" _Kim screamed.

Though. to the other members of their crews, it was like Bonnie and Kim were kids chasing each other around a playground, but the guys of the group were hoping that they'd start wrestling each other, then all they would need is some mud and the fantasy would be complete. Even Ron had to give a small giggle as he watched Kim chase Bonnie all around the backyard like little kids. As they were occupied, Ron went up to Kim's parents, who saw him coming and, by the look on his face, could tell he had something important on his mind.

"Hey, Mister and Misses Doctor P," Ron smiled at Kim's parents, "Can I speak to you both privately for a sec? It's kind of…important…" He said it rather nervously, and they could even see a small blush on Ron's face when he brought this up, so the two doctors looked at each other rather worriedly. After all, Ron was always the funny man; he was never one to act so serious about anything, so they gave him their complete attention.

"Of course, Ron." Misses "Kazaa" Possible answered as she and her husband led Ron back inside the house. The three of them went into the kitchen where they knew that no one could see them talking as well as give Ron their undivided attention from the rollicking fun that was going on between Kim and Bonnie.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

It had been about twenty minutes since Ron had left Kim's side to go speak with her parents. Though the thought of Ron talking with Kim's parents had never exactly occurred to her, mainly because she was busy trying to get her diary back from Bonnie who continually mocked her by saying the word "purple" to her face. It was about eighteen minutes or so into the chase that they had started wrestling each other on the grass, but then Barkin was the one who had broken things up to hopefully make the time there a little more peaceful.

It wasn't too long after the chase was over that Kim looked over at the glass doors that led back into the house that she saw Ron and her parents walking out. It wasn't exactly the fact that Ron was talking with her parents that caught her attention, what sent her curiosity through the roof was the look on their faces.

Ron seemed to have that very same overly happy look as if he had won something or that he had finally gained something that he had been wanting for a very long time. Then there was her parents, the two of them had smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. They were crying for joy as they looked at Ron walking over to Kim. Seeing the expressions that Ron and her parents had, Kim couldn't help but feel very worried about the situation or what had transpired between him and her parents. As Ron had approached her, Kim had to ask:

"Ron," She asked with a raised eyebrow, "What's wrong with my parents?"

Ron didn't say anything; he just reached out his arms and wrapped them around Kim's waist and pulled her towards him.

"First off," Ron began, "I gotta know, what's purple all about?"

With the mention of "purple", Kim had that look in her eyes, like the look she had when she made the "puppy dog pout", though she didn't exactly purse her lips forward when she did it. With that look in her eyes, her face began to blush to a shade that made Ron think of the old red shirt that he had.

"On second thought," Ron reconsidered his question, "forget I asked…"

Ron gulped, but he found it hard to swallow because he was so nervous and in the June heat of Middleton, beneath the collar of his suit, he began to sweat. He didn't know how to approach Kim with what was on his mind. He looked over his shoulder towards Kim's parents hoping that they could give him some kind of silent signal that it would be alright. Kim's mother simply winked at Ron, while Kim's father gave Ron a good solid 'thumbs up' gesture even though both he and Kim's mom had tears of joy in their eyes. Ron turned back to Kim whose blush had receded since Ron decided to not ask again about "purple".

"Um…Kim." He began, "Do you…wanna go for a walk….you know around the lake?"

Kim took in the question and answered instantly, "Sure, Ron." She smiled, and took Ron's hand into her own, interlocking their fingers like most lovers do, "We haven't done that in years."

"Yeah…we…haven't." Ron nodded as the nervous sweat began to form on his forehead as well as beneath his long coat. The two of them walked down the steps of the patio to the green grass, past the crew members of the Neb Two and the Mad Dog. All the while, all the members of the crew had a pretty good idea what Ron went to talk to Kim's parents about and they all felt very happy about it, well most did. Bonnie was trying to hold back tears.

As Kim and Ron left the backyard, there were even a few quiet, moral supporters.

"Go get her, Neo." Ghost smirked.

Seeing them walk out, Morpheus nodded knowingly.

"You the man, Ron." Brick added

"Make her happy." Niobe had finalized as the young lovers went to do what young lovers do.

To be continued…


	5. Chapter 5: The Calm Before The Storm

**The Kimmatrix: Matrix Upgraded**

**A Fan Fiction Fusion By**

**Classic Cowboy and Turles**

**Chapter 5: The Calm Before the Storm**

"_Somewhere there waited in this world of ours _

_For each lone soul, another lonely soul -  
each chasing each other through all the weary hours, _

_And meeting strangely at one sudden goal;_

_Then blend they – like green leaves with golden flowers,_

_Into one beautiful and perfect whole – _

_And life's long night is ended, and the way_

_Lies open onward to eternal day."_

- Sir Edwin Arnold

**110101100110100111001011011100101010110101**

Inside the Matrix, on the streets of New York, a black sedan was rolling through the semi-congested traffic of Manhattan Island. It seemed oddly strange to the driver (Ghost) and the front-side passenger (Morpheus) that New York City traffic would be that clear. Normally, traffic there was filled to the brim, so much that one would be lucky to even move a few feet, or even a few inches in rush hour. Even though a good number of people were released from the Matrix, it still seemed very bizarre, but they had to put that aside as they had arrived at the building that they needed to come to.

The sedan pulled into a parking space just outside the front doors; they looked in thinking of how they were going in. While the third passenger in the back seat, Ron "Neo" Stoppable, looked past the doors and already could feel the security guards waiting for them.

"You know that they'll never let me get close to him." Ron voiced to Morpheus and Ghost in the front, "Because of my half dude-with-the-yardstick-stuck-up-my-ass."

"You're right, Neo." Ghost agreed from the front, looking beyond the front doors and already counting a good dozen guards armed with automatic rifles pacing around the foyer, "As soon as they see you…every bit of security they have will be all over you."

"Yeah." Ron nodded, but he kept looking into the foyer, and looking like he was trying desperately to solve a math problem. Ron's mind began to drift, because he remembered hearing about a certain phenomenon when you don't think about a problem, the solution comes when you least expect it, but he had to think of something. Rather ironically funny, Ron could manipulate the code of the Matrix to defy gravity, speed, and other so-called limitations of reality with his expeditious learned martial arts.

Yet, he couldn't figure out a solution to this problem. His mind tried to think of something else, but the Oracle had told him that when he got there, he would figure out a solution on his own. Once he found his solution, the Architect would tell him what he would need to know.

"You walk in with me…" Ron repeated to himself as he was watching the guards pace back and forth waiting to pounce upon anyone who came through that door. That was when Ron's eye caught a guard who was walking out the door; his heart raced, thinking that they were caught, but then felt a great relief when the guard didn't come towards the sedan. Ron watched as the guard just went around the corner of the building, most likely to take a smoke break. Seeing that guard there with the cigarette in his mouth and fumbling for his lighter, made Ron start to smile devilishly.

It was a smile that Morpheus could see in his rear-view mirror, though it wasn't the kind that made Morpheus worried, rather it was the kind that made him smile. It seemed that the Oracle had hit the nail on the head again. Ron would find the solution that would be needed to get into the building.

Ron leaned forward to look at Morpheus, face to face.

"Could you two excuse me?" He asked, "I just got the most wicked idea."

As Ron stepped out of the car, Morpheus and Ghost looked to one another with that same question of what the boy had in mind. Though the feeling that the two of them had was best captured by one word that Ghost uttered when he looked to Morpheus:

"Yikes…" he said in a rather neutral and sarcastic way.

"I know." Morpheus agreed, "But we must have faith in the boy…"

Meanwhile outside of the sedan, Ron was walking up to the guard who was still looking around for his lighter amidst the different pockets that he had. He then the objective that had been discussed at the morning briefing coming up towards him. He looked at him, and, without even giving it a second thought, asked:

"Say, buddy." He called, taking the cigarette out of his mouth, "Got a light?"

"Yes, I do." Ron answered with a smile on his face as he brought his hand up to the cigarette in the guard's hand. Though what the guard saw shocked him, Ron was holding his hand with his thumb up as if he was holding a lighter, but at the end of his thumb was a singular flame that just sat there, obviously not burning him at all.

The shock of seeing such a sight made the guard drop his cigarette and reach for his gun, but he may as well have been trying to stop a wild rhino with a piece of floss, as Ron reached over and sunk his hand into the guards' chest. From the impact that Ron's fingers made, that very same, strange silver liquid poured out and began to cover the guard from head to toe. Within a matter of seconds, the liquid once again receded and standing in the guard's place was a copy of Ron Stoppable. The two of them smiled as they quickly headed back to the sedan, the plan firmly set in their minds.

The first Ron reached out for the rear passenger door, and climbed in.

"See, I told you it would just be a second." The first Ron said as he slid into the rear passenger's seat, while just a short second behind him was his clone, who slipped into driver's side behind Ghost. The first Ron then reached out and closed the rear passenger door as the discussion of the plan went ahead.

From the front, Morpheus and Ghost looked at the twin Rons back and forth and back again.

"Do you have any idea just how _creepy_ this is?" Ghost asked the Ron's as he shook his head about what had just happened.

"No." The first Ron stated.

The second Ron agreed with the first Ron, "I just see the most handsome, God-given gift to women ever created, wouldn't you agree, Ron?"

"Why thank you, Ron." The first Ron smiled as he returned the compliment back to his clone, "And I must say you are a handsome devil yourself."

"That's enough funny business." Morpheus spoke up, not sounding angry or anything, just in that serious tone he used when he was discussing business with someone or was waxing philosophic. "If you have forgotten, you have a very important appointment to keep, correct?"

The two Rons looked at each other and then back at Ghost and Morpheus, saying in perfect, harmonious unison, "Right."

"Here's the plan." The driver's side Ron explained, "You guys go in with me, the copy that is, and we'll draw attention of all the security." He then turned to look at the first Ron, "While he, the original Ron, will go and speak with the Architect. That sound like a plan?"

"As you would say," Ghost smiled, "_Booyah!_ It is a pretty good plan…..for an amateur."

"Oh yeah." The first Ron smiled very smugly, "Hanging out with the greatest and most beautiful teen hero in the world does tend to rub off on a guy eventually."

"Ok then." Ghost smirked as he looked at his watch, "We better get going, so we can get the boy to the church on time."

"Indeed." Morpheus agreed as he exited the car first, with Ghost following suit and the Ron's doing the exact same.

There was nothing said amongst the four of them, no "good luck" or "be careful" on any of their parts, after all, for Ghost and Morpheus, situations like this were old hat. To Ron, it was just like the missions that he had with Kim, though he was to be both the hero and the distraction simultaneously in this case.

So it was, Morpheus, Ghost, and the Ron clone went through the front, revolving door set in the center of the regular, hinged doors. The original Ron, watched as the guards came down upon them like a flock of vultures to a carcass. The guards began their containment procedure in the foyer, and all the while, they failed to notice the original Ron standing outside the doors.

The Alpha Ron saw this as the opportunity that he was looking for. With his crew drawing the attention of the building's security forces, Ron went to the back doors of the building where he found use for the lock-picking skills that he had learned on training day. Even though Ron knew that his clone and the others were keeping the security of the building busy, he went like a whisper through the halls making sure that no one would spot him. He came to the elevator, and as he went up, his heart was anxious and fearful to find out what kinds of information that this man called "The Architect" would have.

Ron had heard the Oracle speak of him once a few months back when he first visited her, but he was finally going to meet him, the being that was said to have created the Matrix itself. The only thing that he had to go on was what Ghost told him, _when you meet the Architect, he'll look just like Colonel Sanders._ Of course, Ron had such a laugh out of the idea of the creator of the Matrix looking like that, but he had to see it with his own eyes, and soon he would.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Ron had finally made it to the thirteenth floor. The elevator dinged, but even though Ron had made it this far, he was still nervous about getting caught. After all, in his experience, it was usually during times when he thought that it was all over that it turned out there was still a lot to do. Even with the determination he had, the fear was still palpable. His skin felt icy with that layer of cold sweat underneath his priest-like duster, and he could feel himself shake. Until a small pair of feet climbed up his duster and onto his shoulder where the naked mole rat Rufus squeaked into his ear;

"Relax."

"I'm trying, Rufus." Ron whispered as if speaking normally to his pet would give away his position. He stepped softly and quietly through the hallway knowing that by walking normally his shoes would squeak and tap against the linoleum floor. He took his mind away from the ideas of being caught, remembering that his copy was keeping the guards distracted downstairs in the front foyer.

"She said to go into room thirteen-twenty-one." He thought to himself naming off each room that he passed, "thirteen-eighteen…nineteen…twenty…"

He stopped when he came upon the door whose numbers had read thirteen-twenty-one. It was just like the other doors on that particular floor, yet Ron was still afraid of what he might find beyond it. He remembered a story from school about a girl named Pandora who was given a box by the Gods of Greek myth, and when she opened the box, all the evils of the worlds had sprung from it. All because of her natural human curiosity. Ron "Neo" Stoppable's human curiosity was at its peak, but he was still afraid of the unknown horrors that lie beyond that door. He hesitated to reach out for the doorknob, but he remembered another memory from his old life. How Morpheus had said, "I can only show you the door; you're the one who has to walk through it."

Ron took a deep breath, reached for the door knob, turned it, and closed his eyes as he stepped through it. With his eyes still closed, he felt as if he had just walked into any ordinary room, but he didn't open them at all. His hand was still on the doorknob, at least for a moment until it slipped away from his grip as if someone was closing the door for him. That very instant that he heard the door close, he opened his eyes to witness a very strange sight.

He found himself in a circular room, almost like the inside of a cylinder, but it was difficult to find the ceiling and the floor since it was purely white. The kind of white that made him think of staring into a brand-new, fluorescent bulb. Along the inner walls of that cylindrical room were hundreds, if not, thousands, of television screens. On each one, Ron could see _himself_ in their frames, like those cameras that were hooked up to TVs at electronics stores. Ron looked left, the screens that had Ron in them looked left, and then right just as the true Ron had. To Ron's left and right were two doors that broke the pattern of television screens. To Ron's front there was a chair that had its back towards him. It stayed that way until the someone sitting in that chair turned to look at him.

Ron saw, in that chair, a lanky old man wearing a nondescript white suit that seemed to match his white hair and beard. In his right hand there was a pen, which didn't make much sense to Ron as it looked he was prepared to write something, but didn't have anything to write on. His eyes were pale and had crow's feet spreading out from the corners of his yes to his sideburns.

"Hello, Ronald." The old man said in greeting, but it wasn't a greeting that Ron had experienced ever before. The old man said it in such a flat and dull tone as if he had seen Ron coming from a mile away and was bored to tears from all the waiting.

Ron looked at the old man and smiled brightly, "Sorry, dude" He apologized jokingly as he heard his voice echo from the TVs around him, "I must have the wrong room, but while I'm here can I get your autograph? Your extra crispy chicken kicks major ass!"

The old man did not smile and yet there seemed to be a certain kind of joy that he got out of Ron's comment.

"That is the sixth time that I've heard that…" The old man sighed, "I was utterly disappointed when your predecessor, Mr. Anderson, failed to make out the similarity. However, I must argue that the original recipe is far superior, but we are not here to speak of fried chicken, are we Ronald?"

"So, you're the Architect that I've heard so much about, huh?" Ron asked, feeling his stomach start to turn knowing that he came to see this old man to find some kind of answer to his questions. Yet, standing there, looking at the old man, he suddenly saw something very familiar in the way that he sat there. Ron had seen that posture dozens, if not hundreds, of times before. The way that the Architect sat in that chair was just like…_Wade_.

"Indeed." The architect cocked his eyebrow at Ron, "And I presume that you are here to ask about the construction of the Omega Class Sentinels?"

Ron nodded, feeling every vertebra in his neck creak as he tried to loosen up, but was still feeling so afraid of what could come from the Architect's lips, but he could not run away from this. He had to stay and listen.

"Omega class?" Ron asked

"Yes." The Architect had confirmed and then explained, "A new type of Sentinel far superior to the previous models. They have been constructed with an electromagnetic field with the capability to withstand your long range Electro-Magnetic pulse weaponry. Command Sentinels for each squad are also equipped with a thermo-nuclear explosive device."

Ron had to know, "How can we fight them?" He asked.

"Your question is an obvious and expected one." The Architect stated with a very dull demeanor as if everything that was going on was expected, "A simple question that deserves a simple answer: you can't. If launched, they will attack Neo Zion, destroy the city, and terminate all who are there and those attempting to escape. They will then move on to other human settlements on the surface of the Earth, systematically wiping out the human race…once and for all…"

"Why would you do this?" Ron asked, his voice echoed through the hundreds of TV's once again, "You need human beings to survive, right?"

"You may have learned a great deal in the past six months." The Architect surmised, but then stated with a great condescending tone at him, "But you still have learned nothing. With the sky being cleaned up, we will no longer need human beings to survive at all."

"So instead of living in peace with us," Ron stated, his voice growing serious, "You'd sooner just wipe us out since we're still a threat."

"Correct." The Architect answered, but then began to further explain in that monotone voice, "But it is not over, Ronald. The humans can not fight the Sentinels, but you, as you have come to realize, are not necessarily human. The sky is expected to clear once again in a matter of weeks. Three weeks maximum, and when the sun rises on the Earth again, the Matrix, and all programs held within it shall be shutdown. You, as with your six predecessors, have been chosen. You are _The One_: The champion of the human race. Deus Ex Machina has chosen six fighters. You will log into the Matrix from the Central Terminal in Neo Zion in twelve days at six p.m. exactly. From there you will face the six and fight them all at once.

"If you win, the Omega Sentinels will be shutdown and dismantled, those inside the Matrix will be freed upon the shutdown, and we shall negotiate peace. If you lose…the Sentinels shall be released upon your species. Win or lose, we shall allow the human race to continue living, through those who are released from the Matrix after the shutdown at least. _However, _if you fail to arrive for the battle, you will void the agreement. All those inside the Matrix shall perish upon shutdown, and the Omega Sentinels will be loosed upon the human race anyway. Ergo, the blood of the human race shall be on your hands."

"Whoa…" Ron uttered as he could feel the very foundation within his knees and legs start to shake and shiver with this responsibility being brought down upon him.

"Whoa…" Rufus squeaked.

"You do not have to fight." The Architect stated as if he knew that Ron was worried about taking on such a fight that he had lain before him. "I wash my hands of this; the decision for the fate of mankind is in your hands, and your hands alone, Ronald. I wish you confident judgment. I have given you the information you were sent here to retrieve. If that is all, good day…and good luck to you…you humans seem to need it."

Ron stood there, looking down into the white, marble floor that reminded him of the white emptiness of the construct. He began to think back upon the day he was freed, and the past six months how he had come to love Kim as more than just his friend, and regretting coming to see _him_. He even thought about how foolish he was in thinking that he _had_ to know the answers and to follow what the Oracle had told him, but with the weight of what the Architect told him, he wondered if it was really worth it.

He brought his head back up to look at the old man who was still staring at him.

"Which door do I take?" He asked him.

The Architect looked left and right with his pale eyes, and then came back to Ronald, "Choose whichever door you please."

Ron looked to his left to the door that he knew that he came through, but then he looked to the door on his right, the one that he had never gone through. He could never be entirely certain of why he did what he did, perhaps it was just curiosity or perhaps he felt that he had nothing left to lose, but he did anyway. He walked over to the door to his right, and reached for the door knob.

"All six of your predecessors had that same notion in their mind when they made their choice." The Architect said as if he wanted the last word in edgewise.

"What's that?" Ron asked, turning his head to the architect before he reached for the door knob.

"Hope." The Architect answered, "It is the quintessential feature that is both the greatest human strength and greatest weakness."

Ron turned back to the doorknob and thought about the things he had heard. He turned his vision back to the Architect who had turned his chair around, so that his back was towards Ronald once again.

"By the way…" Ron stated, "Thank you…for your help."

The Architect never made any acknowledgement that he had heard the One; there was a pause when Ron opened the door.

"It's odd…" The Architect stated, his voice seeming to change from his monotone and pompous position to something that seemed almost _human,_ "…none of your predecessors ever said that to me."

"It seems that I'm the same, but I'm also different." Ron stated before he opened the door and stepped out of the Architect's room. He found himself back out in that same alleyway at that same backdoor that he took when he first started his trip up to the thirteenth floor and to the Architect's office, if it could be called such.

The world seemed a little dimmer when he stepped out of that pure white room and into the artificial sunlight of the Matrix. Even with his sunglasses on, Ron reached up to block the sun out of his eyes. He then looked back to the street where the Black Sedan was parked.

"Go." Ron squeaked.

"Sure, Rufus." Ron answered back as he walked down the alleyway, back to the street in front of the capital building. He came out into full view of his crewmates, Ghost and his captain, Morpheus who were standing there with Ron's copy. All of them waiting around for him to arrive, once he came within view, all of them set their sights upon Ron, even the copy looked at Ron with a smile that Ron had only ten minutes ago, but seemed lost to the original.

"Hey, Ron, you son-of-a-bitch." The Ron copy smiled at him, "Everything go alright?"

"Yeah." The original Ron smiled despite the worries he had inside, "Went just fine."

"You don't sound very happy about it." The Ron copy said

"I just got a lot on my mind, right now." The original Ron stated as he raised his hand over the head of his copy and began to pull the code away from the person that they had used. Unlike the encounter with the Smith Army, it was quicker; the visage of Ron Stoppable seemed to be like colored smoke that retained some of Ron's features, but were slowly disappearing. Then the smoke that was the Ron copy's looks blew away like sand in the wind, and all that was left was that guard that Ron had borrowed.

"Hey, what happened?" The guard asked.

"You were on your way back inside." Ron stated flatly.

The guard looked at Ron, Morpheus, and Ghost very fearfully as if he was still trying to grasp what exactly had happened to him. The last thing that he remembered was asking Ron for a light. Standing there, he followed Ron's advice and headed back inside to join his comrades, trying, on his way, to come up with a good excuse for where he had been. As the guard headed back into the building, Ron, Morpheus, and Ghost were left to discuss what Ron had found out.

"How did it go?" Morpheus had asked Ron as the three of them got to the doors of the car.

"It's big." Ron said as they opened the doors, his voice sounding very ominous as if he himself was the one making the prophecies, "its _way…big…_"

With that, all three of them got in the car and drove away from the building. Not a single one of them spoke at all on the way to their exit. The ride was deathly quiet, Morpheus and Ghost did want to ask Ron what was going on, but then they both silently thought that it was best to leave Ron alone about it. He already had enough to deal with for one day, especially with that day of all days; they needed to get Ron back to the real world, for a very important date.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

In the dock of Neo Zion, the Nebuchadnezzar Two came to a sloppy landing on the platform. Unlike most of Link's landings where it was just smooth sailing over the concrete and an easy touchdown, this landing was very hurried. The rushing was even more evident in that the gangplank had been lowered before the ship had really touched down, and, like the Neb Two, it didn't come down softly to the concrete, rather it slammed down as if it was being dropped onto the hard concrete surface. As the Neb Two had landed, and the gangplank dropped, the men of the Neb Two were rushing out, they weren't even waiting for the gangplank to come down completely they just jumped over it.

There were Morpheus, Ghost, Link, and Ron rushing down the concrete runway to the elevator. All four of them were dressed in ceremonial robes. Morpheus' was similar to what he usually wore to the parties in Neo Zion, just a regular pair of pants and a sleeveless open robe that exposed his arms. Ghost could have been Morpheus' twin except he wore a torn, short sleeve shirt under his outfit. Link's wasn't anything special, just a fancier version of what he usually wore: his shirt, pants, and boots. Ron, on the other hand, seemed to be the fanciest of them all: a set of pants and a robe that came down to his ankles, which he was desperately trying to get on as he was rushing to meet up with his friends. Yet, what made his so vastly different from the others was that it was purely white like fresh linen. As Ron continued to struggle to put on his robes, he finally called out to his friends and shipmates.

"Hey!" He called, then said nervously putting one arm into his robe's sleeve, "It's not like they're gonna start without me, is it?"

Morpheus was quick in his response to Ron, but still retained his calmly solemn tone in the face of rushing, "Would you like to explain to Kimberly and Niobe why you were late?"

Ron pursed his lips as he thought about the very prospect of telling Kim of what had happened in the last couple of hours while he was in the Matrix when he was supposed to be getting ready for the biggest day of their lives.

"Point taken." He nodded as he slipped the other arm into his robe, "Let's bolt!"

With that Ron dashed down the concrete runway to the elevator to meet up with Morpheus, Link, and Ghost who were waiting for the elevator to come up. It was like this whenever they were in a rush, everything seemed so slow, except the time, which would fly by.

"_Get me to the church on time._" Link started to giggle as he began to sing that one line to himself.

"I'm sure we could do without the reminder, Link." Ghost said with forceful sarcasm.

The elevator finally came and all four of them had finally situated themselves into their robes. If there were ever two things that Ron hated more, it was being in a hurry and then having to wait. Thinking about it while the elevator made its descent, Ron had spent most of his life doing one or the other. It was because this day was so important that Ron actually began tapping his foot against the elevator floor.

As the tension about the situation grew with each floor that the elevator past, he began wrapping a thin blue ribbon around his left arm. It was long enough to that he could tie his hands together with he so chose, but he knew it was that length for a reason. He held the ribbon while it dangled and coiled at his tapping and nervous foot. His mind began to wander and think about the implications of it, but then again Ron was never one to really think very much, still that was before he was released from the Matrix.

He was glad that he was standing at the back of the elevator or his friends and crewmates would have caught him smiling. He smiled because so much had changed, and what made him smile even more was that he couldn't have gone through any of it without her.

"Kim." Ron softly uttered

"Did you say something, Ron?" Morpheus quickly asked as he turned around to look at Ron.

Ron looked up and brought himself back to reality, "Nothing." Ron quickly stated, trying to cover up his utterance.

Morpheus did want to say something to Ron, as if he wanted to offer some kind of fatherly advice. It was because of that look on Ron's face; he had seen that look on his face before. It was during that first visit to the Oracle that Ron had that look of subtle defeated depression. Before Morpheus could even open his mouth, the elevator dinged to their floor, and seeing that they had arrived, the quartet readied themselves to dash like Olympic runners waiting for the starting gunshot. The doors were only opened slightly when Morpheus, Link, Ghost, and Ron squeezed out and dashed over the bridge from the elevator to the temple.

The four of them headed to the temple with the long of their robes waving behind them like flags in a morning breeze as they rushed. They finally reached the opening of the Temple where the metal catwalk met with the solid, sandy floor, and where they were met by the edge of a crowd. That's when they saw that the temple was filled to overflowing with freed humans as well as born free humans. All of them from Neo Zion and perhaps some of them from the different human cities across the face of the Earth, each one of them standing shoulder to shoulder and elbow to elbow looking towards the high altar where Councilor Hamann stood. With that, the four of them split up. Morpheus and Ghost went with Ron up to the rock altar where Councilor Hamann stood, while Link merged with the crowd to meet up with his wife. At the altar, Ron made sure that his ribbon was still secure on his arm as he took his place at Councilor Hamann's left side, while Morpheus stood to Ron's left side with Ghost at Morpheus' left as well. At the other side, there was the Maid of Honor; Monique – who was also called "Pons". After all, her Matrix name did mean 'bridge', and she was that bridge between Ron and Kim.

"Am I late?" Ron asked Councilor Hamann while checking over his ribbon.

"Not at all, son." Hamann smiled at Ron as he answered his question, knowing that Ron had needed to rush to get here. As Ron was getting ready, Morpheus was issuing some orders to Ghost. He had surveyed the crowd behind Ron and saw the face of Joshua "Ares" Mankey who was more or less half a football field away from the altar. Morpheus then whispered to Ghost, "If Joshua bats an eyelash; you have my permission to deal with him how you see fit."

"Got it, sir." Ghost answered back quietly.

The two men looked back to the altar, seeing Councilor Hamann smile once again.

"It seems that you're right on time, Ronald." He said as his gaze moved to the far end of the temple, near its opening. As he looked, Ron, Morpheus, and Ghost followed his glance in that direction, along with the thousands of other men, women, and children who looked.

Ron "Neo" Stoppable gulped when he saw, at the opening of the temple, Mister and Misses Possible both dressed in their best ceremonial robes, which came down to their ankles, but were open enough to deal with the heat from the volcanic vents inside the temple. Standing between them, was _she_: Kim "Angel" Possible, who dressed the most elegant white gown that anyone inside Neo Zion had ever seen. She even had a small veil covering her face but was still sheer enough to see her face, and on her left arm was a ribbon much like what Ron had except it was red and it too dangled and coiled at her feet.

In that gown, in the light of the temple, and with the music of the familiar march playing, she was led down through the crowd, which began to part down the center as if Kim Possible was a princess that commanded the respect of all those in the temple. Every eye was upon her as she glided down through the temple and towards the altar, and despite how cliché it may have sounded in retrospect; she seemed to glow like some kind of angel. A true double meaning, her Matrix name and the way she looked in that gown.

With each step that Kim took towards the altar, the butterflies in Ron's stomach multiplied a dozen times over. Yet, he kept looking at Kim's face and seeing how happy she was, even more so were her parents who had such tears of joy in their eyes that they were desperately trying to hold back.

They were only a few steps away from the altar when Ron took a very deep breath to try to try and calm his flip-flopping stomach. The three Possible family members stopped and looked towards Councilor Hamann who spoke loud enough so that his voice would echo from the back wall to the others in the temple.

"Who gives this woman away?" He asked loudly, his voice echoing against the rocky walls.

"H…her mother…" Mister Possible sniffled as a tear of joy ran down his face, he then recomposed himself, "And I."

After Mister Possible completed that ceremonial statement, the Councilor, who acted as the ceremony minister, nodded in his acknowledgement to the Possible Parents. Seeing the nod from the councilor, Mister Possible turned to his daughter, looked at her sweet, young face through the veil before he leaned over, kissed her cheek, and turned to take his place in the crowd. Then Misses Possible did the same, yet it was so much harder for her to do, to let go of her daughter's hand, perhaps it was because she was her mother or that Kim was her only daughter. Either way, Misses Possible took a little longer to let go of Kim's hand, but as she did, she reached over and held her daughter while she kissed her cheek. She then turned and went to join Mister Possible in the crowd as the ceremony began.

Kim had watched her mother to go to her father's side where she quietly wept into his shoulder. She did feel sad for her parents, but at the same time she felt so happy for the day, it was the kind of day that so many girls and women dreamt about. Ironically enough, it wasn't exactly something that had crossed Kim's mind in her own childhood; perhaps she wasn't 'girly' enough for that. She smiled as she turned to face Ron, expecting to see a certain amount of happiness in his eyes, but instead she saw immense worry in his chocolate orbs. Her suspicions ran high because she knew that kind of look. It was the same look he had when it was discovered that he only had seven months left to live. She approached him.

"What's wrong?" Kim mouthed to Ron, hoping he would get the message from the motion of her lips.

"We'll talk later." Ron quietly replied as he and Kim turned toward Councilor Hamann.

The councilor looked at Ron and Kim and smiled to see such love embodied in such great youth. He looked up to the crowd of people within the temple and started the ceremony.

"Before we go further," Hamann began as his voice echoed once again, "Is there any person here who has reason that these two young people should not become one, speak now…or forever hold your peace."

In the silence that followed, those at the altar looked to the crowd to see if anyone would have reason to stop the wedding. Though Morpheus and Ghost knew who would and had their eyes set upon him. Josh "Ares" Mankey was making his way quietly through the crowd, like a lion through the tall grass of the savannah. Neither Morpheus nor Ghost moved in to stop him, because also moving among the crowd and coming to intercept Josh was Link. The two men at the altar smiled thinking that Link had a similar idea to what they had. They waited for a full ten seconds when Josh was about to pounce at the altar, Link came in and quickly shouted as he jumped, bringing his leg around to hit Josh.

"Dead head!" He yelled as his foot slammed against Josh's head sending the teen down to the floor of the temple like a dropped sandbag from a theater rafter. Link threw Josh over his shoulder and said to everyone in the temple, "As you were, people."

"Very well then…" Hamann blinked in his confusion about what had just transpired, but he wasn't about to let that stop the ceremony, as Link had carried Josh away, he continued on, "Are there any others?"

"YOU KIDDIN' ME, MAN?" A voice called out, and instantly everyone in the temple looked to find that the one who voiced his opinion about the ceremony belonged to Brick "Tater Salad" Flagg, "GO TAME THAT WILD CAT, RONNIE-BOY!"

The laughter came in one solid wave and echoed several times over through the temple. It was true that everyone agreed with Brick in their own way, after all, the talk around the most gossip tables was that Ron had better marry Kim before she knocked him out and did it for him. It was no secret how much they cared for each other. With the laughter dying down, all eyes went back to Councilor Hamann, who had his own laugh about Brick's comment as he looked at the blushing Kim and Ron.

"I understand you both wrote your own vows, correct?" The councilor asked of the bride and groom.

Kim was the one to go first; she took a very deep breath to try to calm her stomach. She had practiced her little vow/speech in private, but it seemed so much harder to do when not only the man she loved was in front of her, but all of Neo Zion was watching as well. She slowly released her deep breath as she looked into Ron's eyes, hoping that she wouldn't break her contact with them as she spoke her words of the heart.

"Ron…" She began, "…I'm not sure where to even begin with telling you just how much you mean to me…you asked a question to me a few days ago, during a fight of all things …if… if you never became the one, would I have ever noticed you? The answer…whether you believe it or not…is yes…_I would've_. I've…I've noticed you for sometime, Ron, but never would have thought for a second that you would have thought of me as more than your best friend or partner…"

"But then again…it was a miracle you thought of me as even that, especially after how I had treated you. I've always noticed you, Ron…I…I just never realized it until we were freed. You've been by my side from day one. You were with me on my first mission and every mission afterwards. I…I…never could do it without you, Ron, and I doubt I could go on without you by my side. I love you, Ron…always have…and always will."

Kim had to swallow at that point. Even though she had promised herself that she wouldn't lose her self-control, she already had when she felt a single tear leak out and slide down her chin. She reached up underneath her veil to brush away the tear and waited to hear the vow that Ron had prepared for their wedding.

Ron, on the other hand, felt such a warm wave coming over him as if Kim's words were a warm blanket that he had longed for, for such a very long time. He looked to Councilor Hamann to bring himself out of the trance he was in.

"My turn, huh?" Ron asked. He looked at the 'preacher', then to Kim, and then to the people looking at him wondering what great words Ron would say to his soon-to-be-wife. He, like Kim, took a deep breath before starting, "Here goes…I…um…I've actually been practicing this before I even proposed, Kim. You see…I had a hard time trying to find the right words to tell you. But I had found them in a song, and I'm just thankful that the guys in the band know about it."

Ron looked towards the band that was stationed near the altar at the far left part of the cave. As he looked, they were holding up their instruments, which told him they were ready. Ron reached up and cupped his hands to call to them:

"Alright guys!" He called to the band, "Start it up!"

The band started up with a light piano solo, or as close as they could get with what they had, as Ron turned back to Kim and cleared his throat before he began to sing.

"_Ordinary no, really don't think so  
Not a love this true  
Common destiny  
We were meant to be  
Me and you"_

Ron's voice was so solemn when he was singing those words with closed eyes, hoping that the words in that song would come out the way he imagined to the ears of Kim and all those attending the wedding.

"_Like a perfect scene from a movie screen  
Where every dream comes true  
Suited perfectly for eternity  
Me and you_

Every day, I need you even more  
At the nighttime too  
There's no way  
I could ever let you go  
Even if I wanted to

Every day I live  
I try my best to give  
All I have to you  
Thank the stars above  
That we share this love

_Me and You_

Ron had paused for the instrumental break where the guitar was in the lead, the makeshift piano backing it up, and the drums moving the song. Kim felt her entire skin rise in goose pimples as the chills ran up and down her spine like the strings of a harp being played. She smiled with such great love and joy at Ron that she could feel her own body begin to tremble with the slight sobs of happiness that she made. She watched as Ron never opened his eyes during the whole instrumental break, but as it was coming to a close, he had opened his eyes to look at Kim. To see her smile and weep from her own happiness, he smiled back as he opened his mouth to finish the song.

"_Every day, I need you even more  
At the nighttime too  
There's no way  
I could ever let you go  
Even if I wanted to_

Ordinary no, I really don't think so  
Just a precious few  
Ever make it last  
Get as lucky as  
Me and you

_Me and you_

With the song ending, Ron reached out to Kim with his left hand, the one hand that had the blue ribbon tied around it. Kim did the same as she reached out to take Ron's hand with her left arm that had that red ribbon on it. The song came down to a very slow halt as Kim and Ron held each other. They looked like they were about to kiss, but they knew that it wasn't time for that, not just yet anyway.

"Me and you, forever and for always, _my KP._" Ron whispered as he held Kim's hand.

The bride and groom turned to Councilor Hamann who seemed so greatly happy for the two of them. They watched as he reached up to wipe away something from his eyes. He then cleared his throat before he turned to Kim.

"Kimberly." He said to her, "repeat after me: I, recite your full name."

"I, Kimberly Anne 'Angel' Possible." Kim announced, following the councilor's instructions.

"Do solemnly swear."

"Do solemnly swear."

"To love, honor, and cherish Ronald Stoppable as long as we both shall live."

"To love, honor, and cherish Ronald Stoppable as long as we both shall…" Kim stumbled over the words, remembering how long the Oracle said that Ron was supposed to live, "sh…_shall live._"

Hamann then turned to Ron, who looked at the councilor waiting for those words, "Ronald, repeat after me. I, recite your full name"

"I," Ron repeated, "Ronald Thomas 'Neo' Stoppable,"

"Do solemnly swear."

"Do solemnly swear."

"To love, honor, and cherish Kimberly Possible as long as we both shall live."

"To love, honor, and cherish Kimberly Possible as long as we both shall live." Ron made the last repeated statement with such pride and strength in his voice as if he was declaring it to God himself.

With the two ribbon-covered hands of Ron and Kim already holding each other, Hamann reached down for them, bringing them up to a leveled position like to ends of a bridge meeting each other at the middle. With them outstretched in such a position, the councilor began wrapping their ribbons around one another. He wrapped what was left of Ron's blue ribbon around Kim's arm as if the red and blue ribbons were snakes coiling into each other. With Ron's ribbon covering her arm, he then reached for Kim's red ribbon and wrapped it around Ron's arm. With the ribbons binding them together, the councilor looked to the men and women in the temple and made his blessing on the happy couple.

"Let this ribbon represent the bond between this man and this woman" He stated, his voice once again echoing through the temple, "May this union never be severed or strained, and remain strong even to the end of all things. And so, by the power vested in my by the Council of Zion, I now pronounce you…man…and wife…"

Kim and Ron turned to look at one another as Councilor Hamann said those words, the very thing that made them husband and wife. It seemed so unreal that they were finally married, and yet they felt so young at the same time. It had finally happened, or so they thought, before Hamann stepped in.

"Well, don't just stand there, son." He said laughingly at Ron, "Kiss your bride."

Ron needed no further encouragement, he reached out with both arms, the arm that was tied to Kim's by the ribbon presenting no problem, lifted her veil, and then grabbed her waist making she let out a high pitched squeal as she was lifted off her feet before Ron kissed her. In that moment, it was one of _the _most passionate kisses that Kim had ever received from Ron. It was the kind of kiss that drowned out the rest of the world that was applauding for them, applauding, cheering, hollering, and screaming for them.

They didn't even break the kiss when Councilor Hamann was trying to speak loudly over the crowd of cheering and noise.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Brothers and Sisters!" He cried out to all those in the temple, "I present to you…_The Stoppables!"_

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Almost everyone in all of Neo Zion had turned out to watch the wedding of "The One" and "The Girl Who Can Do Anything". Everyone except one person. A woman who was just sad, alone and bitter, Instead of going down to the Temple to watch the wedding, she went to the Jack Room, where she had jacked herself in and loaded a program she constructed around one memory that she had.

She stood in the middle of the blank whiteness of the Construct while the program that she had designed was loading. All around her, she found herself back in a preschool playground, the very one from her early childhood. She walked through it, while all the playing children passed her without giving a single notice to her. She was like Ebenezer Scrooge being guided by the Ghost of Christmas Past as she approached a large oak tree that grew near the school building.

Her heart ached as she watched the children scatter across the playground and go to their favorite places, the swing set, the jungle gym, the monkey bars, but she, herself, walked over to the sandbox. There she found a pair of four-year-olds who were best friends since as far back as they could remember. Then again, at that age, it couldn't have been that long ago in the first place. There was a small freckle-faced boy with blonde hair and a brunette girl shyly holding his hand as they sat at the edge of the sandbox.

"Ronnie?" The brunette girl smiled at the blonde boy who was blushing brightly at her.

"Ahuh, Bon-bon?" The blonde boy replied as he squirmed his feet underneath the sand in the sandbox.

"My big sister is getting married." The brunette girl stated, her cheeks starting to blush, "When we get big, can we get married too, Ronnie?"

"Sure!" Ron stated with a smile of enthusiasm, "Um…what's _married_ mean?"

As the brunette girl blushed when Ron had asked his question, a voice of help came out of nowhere.

"Leave me alone!" A girl's trembling voice called from the old oak tree where three bullies had her pushed against it. She trembled in fear as two of the bullies were pulling on her red pigtails.

Bonnie blinked, and before she could gain a bearing on what was going on, Ron had gotten to his feet and ran quickly towards them. She couldn't hear what was said, but she watched as the bullies had turned on Ron. She had gotten to her feet in the sandbox, determined to save Ron from the bullies that were crowding around him near the jungle gym.

"I'm warning you!" Ron tried to scare the bullies, "I have an imaginary friend, he's huge…Rufus!"

Bonnie was about to dash over to the bullies to save Ron, but before she could even make the first step, someone had beaten her to it.

"Hey bullies!" A voice called out.

Bonnie looked to see that the red haired girl had grown a great deal of backbone in a matter of seconds. She had leapt up into the air as if she was lifted by a pair of wings. She came down on the bullies in a pose like something out of Jackie Chan movie, and as soon as she landed, the bullies scattered and ran right off the playground.

There were two Bonnie's at the Middleton Preschool playground in that memory, there was the young Bonnie who sat down at the edge of the sandbox as she watched the red hair girl with Ron. Standing next to her was the Bonnie that the young girl had become; the two of them looked at the red haired girl and Ron and felt such a pang of jealousy at them. It became thick as tar when the red haired girl went over to Ron and threw her arms around him in a wonderful hug. The older Bonnie wanted to hug her younger version, but then the environment around her changed as the program went to the next scene that she had programmed into it.

She found herself at the front steps of the preschool, where she found her younger version sitting there. The young Bon-Bon sat there on the cold concrete as if she was waiting for someone. The entire pre-school seemed empty, as if everyone there had already gone home. It was even more evident when the sun was casting out golden rays of sunset.

From out of the doors behind the young Bonnie, she hoped to see her friend, Ronnie coming out and they would walk home together, like they always did. Instead, her heart sunk once again when she found that it was just a blonde girl named Tara.

"Hey." She called out, "Have you seen Ronnie?"

Tara turned to look at Bonnie and said, "Yeah, I saw him walking home with Kimmie a 'lil while 'go."

"Oh…" Bonnie replied as she set her elbows upon her thighs, her face into her hands and looked down at the concrete. She didn't see Tara shrugging at her as she walked her own way back home. As the young Bonnie sat there upon the concrete steps, the older Bonnie came over and sat down beside her. The pain she felt was unbearable; it was a memory that Bonnie had harbored all her life.

"He…" The young Bonnie cried, "…he…forgot me…he _really_…forgot me…"

The cries that the young Bonnie weren't loud like those of any young child; they were soft, withheld, and quiet whimpers as the tears soaked into her little dress and fell to the cold concrete below her.

As the young Bonnie wept, the older Bonnie took her fist and slammed it against the concrete, her rage numbing out the pain that she caused herself. She didn't care how much her hand hurt; it was nothing to the years of pain that she had suffered because of that one day. Ron was her best friend first, and that red-headed bitch, Kim Possible, took him away from her. Even though Bonnie had only known Ron for a short time in that Preschool, she couldn't help but feel that she had known Ron from somewhere else, as if they knew each other before they were born.

"Bastards…" The older Bonnie wept, as she numbed the pain of her hand out with the pain she'd had since she was the little girl who was sitting beside her, "They…deserve each other…I hate them…_I hate them both!_"

The two Bonnies sat upon the concrete steps of Middleton Preschool, their knees pulled close to their chests and their tears flowing from their eyes like miniature waterfalls. They allowed their grief to silently flow from themselves as the sun sank into the west, bringing about not only night, but the anger, sorrow, and bitterness that filled the young Bonnie, which grew into the bitchy, holier-than thou, alpha-female attitude that the older Bonnie had.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Nightfall had come to the city of Neo Zion; all the people had already gone back to their homes and were sleeping, alone or with their wives or girlfriends, in both senses of the term. That was certainly true of the newlyweds Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. The two of them were back at the apartment that they were already sharing, but the only thing that had changed since they got that place was that they started sleeping in the same bed. It was a good thing that their beds were so big; it was as if Morpheus and the Possible parents had seen this coming a mile away and were preparing for it.

As they were spooning each other in bed, it was weird to Ron to think of Kim as his wife, and, he her husband. He just couldn't get his mind around the bizarreness of it all, that he was married, just like a lot of adults. Then again, being married to Kim Possible, the girl who can do anything and his best friend seemed to make it less bizarre. It wasn't like they weren't having sex before they were married, but there was something about it being their wedding night that seemed to make this marathon session more passionate, more… special. Though there was one reason why the two of them wore white, it wasn't necessarily a sexual thing. It was more of a matter of the heart, that they were virgins to each other in the matter of the heart. So, that night, in their apartment, they made love in the most endearing and passionate way they ever could, although it came to a point where Ron couldn't perform anymore, after all the spirit was willing but the flesh was spongy. That was when Kim and Ron fell asleep in each other's arms.

Ron cuddled Kim closer to him, and that was when he felt something from Kim before he heard it;

"I love you, Ronnie." Kim whispered as she opened her eyes facing her husband.

"Did I wake you, Kim?" Ron asked, concerned that he had disturbed his wife.

"No." Kim smiled as she shook her head slightly, "I was never asleep. I was just…sort of…basking in the moment."

Ron squeezed Kim closer and tighter, while she licked her husband's earlobes and then whispered, "We're going to prove her wrong."

"Hmmm?" Ron asked in confusion about what Kim meant.

"We've beaten everything we've come across so far." Kim explained to Ron, making firm eye contact with him, "We did things people thought were impossible, even for my parents, who are the worlds biggest optimists. We can beat this, Ron, my love. Just like everything else and we'll be together…we'll grow _old_ together…and have kids…and all that other married stuff."

Ron couldn't help but giggle through his nose, before he looked at Kim and asked, "Married stuff? And just how many kids were you planning on?"

"Hmm." Kim smiled with cat-like intent as she teased Ron, "I don't know…but I'm used to having a full house. So you've got your work cut out for you, big boy…" She smiled as she ran her fingers down Ron's bare chest, over his tightly formed abs, and towards his crotch. Ron was about to stop Kim's hand, but that was when Kim threw back the sheets and climbed on top of Ron, pinning his arms down to the bed in their little, naked, wrestling match.

"Is that a challenge?" Ron asked, looking up at Kim, gazing at the beauty of her, her face, her hair, and her body. He then rolled over and reversed their positions so that Kim was now pinned, his pelvis already up against Kim's, "Maybe we should get to work on that…that is _if…you're ready, Kimmie-love._"

Kim looked up at Ron and gave him a very coy smile, the kind of smile that just said _come and get me_, before she said, _"_Whatever comes…_comes_…and after all it _is_ our wedding night, right? But…Ron…promise me something first…"

"Anything, KP." Ron smiled, thinking that anything Kim asked of him wouldn't be all that hard to do; after all he was The One.

"Promise…" Kim started, but it was hard for her to get the rest out with the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She looked away from Ron, thinking that she couldn't bring herself to ask it of her husband.

That was when Ron reached down to Kim's chin and brought it back to face him. He then reached down and wiped away the tears from his wife's face.

"Hey, KP." Ron smiled, "It's like you said, we've beaten everything we've come across."

Kim smiled up at her husband as she finished what she was going to say, "Ron, promise me that you'll never leave me…"

Ron lowered himself down beside his wife, looked at her face, and pressed his lips against hers into a passionate kiss. He then broke the kiss and pulled back to look at his wife's face once again. He began to brush back her reddish ginger hair as if they were strands of the finest materials on Earth. He then brought his hand to Kim's cheek.

"I love you, Kim." Ron whispered, "As long as I got a say in it…I promise…as long as I'm able…I'll never leave you…ever..."

With that last vow on Ron's part, the two lovers embraced one another, kissed one another, and made love again and again as the hours of the night progressed on into morning.

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6: Who Wants To Live Forever

**The Kimmatrix: Matrix Upgraded**

**A Fan Fiction Fusion By**

**Classic Cowboy and Turles**

**Chapter 6: Who Wants to Live Forever?**

"_Memory is not an instrument of exploring the past, but its theatre."_

- Walter Benjamin

**110101100110100111001011011100101010110101**

Twelve days had come and twelve days had gone. The skies over the Earth gradually became lighter and lighter allowing it to regain its sapphire color once again. It was by the eleventh day that all of the sky was like that of an overcast day, and even for that moment it seemed that all was well with the world, yet, in what was once called the Cradle of Human Civilization, where now resided the Machine City, Zero One Two; down in the lower levels where the six pods were stationed, the screen that read their status only had a little ways to go.

Alpha Unit Status:

Alpha Unit One: Reanimation Sequence ETC: 0 days 4 hours 12 minutes

Alpha Unit Two: Reanimation Sequence ETC: 0 days 1 hour 2 minutes

Alpha Unit Three: Reanimation Sequence ETC: Complete

Alpha Unit Four: Reanimation Sequence ETC: Complete

Alpha Unit Five: Reanimation Sequence ETC: Complete

Alpha Unit Six: Reanimation Sequence ETC: Complete

Alpha Units Final Activation Sequence Engaged…

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Ron "Neo" Stoppable sighed as he stared at the ceiling of his and Kim's bedroom. He knew that the day had come for him; it was like all those mornings when he woke up on days of tests for school: he would awaken feeling nervous, nauseous, and scared out of his mind. The only difference, as he thought about it, at least with the tests in school, he had a fairly good idea about the outcome since he was so lousy at written tests. The fight that was before him seemed impossible especially since there were lives on the line, human flesh and blood on the line and in his hands, even the lives of friends, crewmates, and most of all, the woman that he loved, his wife: Kim Possible.

Ron turned his head slightly to his left to see Kim sleeping so very soundly; even in her sleep she had a smile on her face. She was so blissfully happy; Ron had never seen Kim that happy, not in a long time. Still, like the merry-go-round that his mind had become, he came back to the day at hand; the day that both the Oracle as well as the Architect had said was coming. Ron took another deep breath, feeling that he needed to go somewhere to think. He turned his head back to his wife, leaned over, and brushed back a few strands of her fiery red hair before laying a feather light kiss on her cheek. He then climbed out of bed that he and Kim had come to share for over a week (and what a week it was). Silently, he got himself dressed before he walked out of the apartment.

It was still early morning, must have been at least three in the morning by Ron's guess. He came to the balcony and looked up towards the ceiling of the apartment complex of Neo Zion. With all the little walkway lights and the thick clouds of moisture hanging at different levels, it looked like an underground night sky. It was bizarre how much like the stars that the lights of other apartments were when all of Zion was at least five miles below the surface of the Earth.

Ron had changed his gaze from the 'underground night sky' to a single yellowish light at the bottom floor of the apartment complex. It was the light of the statue of Neo. Ron went down to that bottom floor to look at the statue.

He walked up to it, gazing at the quality of its craftsmanship, how the light made it look real and unreal at the same time, and how heroic this man named Neo looked. Ron came closer to the statue, never giving one look at anything else, not the plaque, or the rest of the statue itself, just the face.

"Why...why me?" Ron pleaded with the statue, half-hoping that the statue would come to life to give Ron some kind of God-sent advice, "What would you do in this situation, Neo? I'm no hero…_I never was_…I'm a sidekick…and a damn good one too! Sidekicks aren't supposed to save the world…I'm no good at this sort of thing…I know that…that if I go…I'm just going to screw it all up. I just want you to know that I…I never wanted to be a hero…I…I just wanted to be…KP's sidekick…"

Ron gave a sharp sniffle as he turned his gaze downward to the plaque at the base of Neo's statue:

_Neo_

_The One who ended the War of Man and Machines_

"_I dipped into the future as far as the eye can see and saw a vision of the world and all the wonder that it would be."_

_- Lord Alfred Tennyson_

The tears were welling up in Ron's eyes when the true weight of the situation and its consequences started to come down upon him.

"No, you were a terrible sidekick." A voice corrected Ron.

The shock of another voice was nearly enough to send Ron tumbling over the rail and head first into Neo's plaque. But Ron simply turned to see who was standing there; which ended up being none other than his dear and loving wife, Kim Possible. She was standing as if she had been there the whole time with her arms crossed over her chest. Ron took in the comment knowing that it was definitely Kim who had made the correction to Ron's rant.

"Figures…" Ron signed as he shook his head about the comment and his shoulders drooped, "Can't even be a sidekick right…"

"Got that right." Kim snorted, but then smirked at her husband, who was looking down at the floor in such embarrassed shame. She blew a strand of her red hair out of her face when she approached Ron, "Sidekicks listen to what the hero says no matter what. If the hero tells the sidekick to jump, then the sidekick is supposed to ask how high. To the sidekick, the hero is always right…no matter what, and will follow the hero no matter what. You're no sidekick, Ron…you never were…" Kim walked up and placed a gentle hand on Ron's shoulder, "A partner doesn't always listen to the hero. A partner will point out when the hero is wrong, argue, or even smack the hero up side the head when she's about to do something stupid. Just like you've always done, and also…you may never 've wanted to be a hero, but you've always been a hero to at least one person."

Ron looked up at Kim's green eyes before she leaned in to kiss him lightly upon his lips. As she pulled back, Ron smiled slightly at her.

"I thought the sappy stuff ended after the wedding…" He joked lightly at his wife.

"That's only sometimes." Kim shrugged in her response to Ron's little crack, but then she gave Ron a look that he knew all too well; he knew what the next question was that Kim was about to ask.

"You going to tell me what was said when you visited the Architect last week?" Kim had asked, scowling at Ron who had only let out a frustrated sigh as he looked away from Kim and down at the floor once again.

"Ron…" Kim demanded Ron's attention, "Talk to me please. Does it have to do with what the Oracle told you about what's going to happen, today?"

Ron looked sharply at Kim with surprise as if asking how she knew.

"Don't look so surprised." Kim answered Ron's expression, "I've kept up with the date just as well as, if not more so than you."

"I…" Ron stammered, trying to avoid eye contact with his wife, "I just…don't want you…to worry…"

"Your not sleeping well and avoiding talking to me about it _is_ what's worrying me." Kim stated exasperatedly, "Why won't you tell me?"

Ron was about to answer or at least attempt an answer when he looked at the face of his dear wife and felt his will start to shake. Kim Possible had her shoulders bunched up, her lower lip pursed out and her eyes looking at Ron so pitifully. It was her signature look, the Kim Possible "Puppy Dog Pout".

"Now that should be illegal…" Ron stated, his defense lowering from his wife's secret weapon.

"Please tell me…if you love me, you'll tell me." Kim stated, her voice sounding like a mock version of weeping as her lower lip began to tremble by her will alone.

"Okay, okay." Ron laughed as he threw his arm over his eyes to shield him from his wife's secret weapon, "Just lose the pout, okay?"

"Booyah." Kim smiled in her triumph of finally getting her husband to crack, "Talk, please."

Ron lowered his arm and looked at Kim with a strict seriousness, "Remember the sentinel army that the _Mad Dog_ spotted last week?" Ron asked.

Kim gave him a nervous nod.

"Well," Ron explained, "The Architect gave me a challenge…"

"What _kind_ of challenge?" Kim asked, suddenly starting to regret forcing her husband to reveal the information that she selfishly wanted to know.

"Today…" Ron explained, "at six in the evening…six fighters chosen by the head machine dude…will be waiting for me inside the Matrix. If I decide to go, I'll log in from the Jack Room here in Neo Zion and fight them. If I win, the Sentinel Army will be dismantled and the people connected to the Matrix will be released. If I lose the sentinels will attack and destroy Neo Zion as well as all of the human cities on the surface, but they'll let those who are still plugged in live. If I just plain don't show up, they'll shutdown the Matrix without freeing the people inside, and release the sentinels."

Ron had tried his best to repeat what the Architect had told him, but, with something so monstrous on his shoulders, it was hard to forget any details about it. As Ron finished up his explanation of it, he saw how much his wife's face had paled as if she had been scared right down to her very core.

"Its okay, Kim" Ron tried to reassure as he pulled Kim into a hug and held her there very gently, "I'm the One, remember? They'll need six thousand to top me."

"I just got a bad feeling, Ron." Kim sighed into Ron's shoulder, while she wrapped her arms around his waist, "Remember…remember your promise."

"I'm not going anywhere Kim." Ron whispered into her ear. "Come on, I've got a big day ahead…saving the world and all…so let's try to get some sleep, okay?"

Kim didn't say a word during the whole walk from Neo's statue back to their apartment. Even though neither said a word to each other, it did seem that the weight of what was to come was on both their shoulders.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

The day had arrived, and the time was drawing close; it must have been ten minutes to six o'clock when Kim Possible and her husband Ron Stoppable walked hand in hand into the Jack Room of Neo Zion. It was rather bizarre to an extent since when Kim and Ron had arrived; there were some good people there waiting for them. They stood around the nearest Jack Chair just to the right of the entry way. There was Morpheus, Niobe, Mister 'Napster' Possible, Misses 'Kazaa' Possible, Ghost, and Link, who sat at his operations station simply waiting. Seeing the people who were there waiting for them, Kim and Ron headed in.

The whole situation seemed to have that same feeling as a farewell party or a send-off party before someone was to get on a plane. Even Morpheus seemed to add to that when he looked at Ron with such seriousness similar to how a doctor looks at a patient when they're going to give some very bad news.

"It's time, Ronald." Morpheus stated.

Ron gulped as he nodded, looking towards the Jack Chair that seemed to have an unusual kind of glow to it. As if the chair itself knew that today was a very big day with such great ramifications attached to it. In a way, the chair seemed welcoming despite how grimy it was with its torn upholstery and odd metal parts. It was there in the center of the circle of friends and family wanting Ron to use it, saying 'It's alright Ron; I'll help you get through this."

"Well…" Ron shrugged, looking at everyone around the room, "I guess its ass kickin' time, huh?" He smiled weakly before looking back at the welcoming Jack Chair, "Here goes nothing…"

"Stop." Kim uttered as Ron took his first step to the chair,

"Kim?" Ron asked, turning to look at his wife,

"Don't go…I'm just…just getting a really bad vibe about this, Ron." Kim said, shaking her head and avoiding eye contact with her husband, "It's a trap…I just know it…Ron…let's…let's get a ship and go away…far away from Neo Zion, from the Matrix, from everything."

"Kim!" Her parents breathed, very shocked by their daughters' alternative.

"No." Ron said to his in-laws, before he looked back at his wife, Kim. He smiled as he approached her and set his hands upon her shoulders, "Kim, if you were in my shoes right now…what would you do?"

Kim said nothing.

"If you knew…" Ron tried to justify what he was doing, "that if you thought you could save lives that would be lost if you did nothing, would you fight, KP?" He reached up, cupped Kim's cheeks, and looked her straight in the eye, "Or would you run away…and live with the knowledge that you could have made a difference for the rest of your life, would you? I'd like to think that no matter how much you loved me, no matter how much I begged you not to, and no matter how much it hurt to leave me behind to fight alone, you would still go…am I right?"

"…Damn you…" Kim cried as her tears ran over Ron's cupped hands.

"I also would like to believe you'd like me to be right there beside you on the outside holding your hand…" Ron assured as he wiped away Kim's tears

"Ne…never…" Kim whimpered and sniffed slightly, "Never thought…you could hate…and love someone so much at the exact same time." She reached up to wipe away the last of her tears, "I'll be waiting for you to win, Ron…I'll be holding your hand…"

Without looking down, Ron and Kim's hands had interlocked with one another and they looked towards the Jack Chair. Taking a deep breath, they headed to it as if it was their own leap of faith. Kim stood at the side of the Jack Chair while Ron laid back in it allowing Ghost and Morpheus to strap him in, though Kim was the one holding the last piece, the long jack that would plug into the back of Ron's head. she led it in with her free hand while the other still held her husband's hand.

Ron looked up at his loving wife and smiled, "I love you, KP."  
"I love you too, Ron." Kim replied as she leaned down to give Ron a great, long, and passionate kiss as if it was the last pleasure he would have on Earth. Kim had pulled back and whispered, "I'll be right here beside you…"

Ron laid his head back into the Jack Chair as Kim took the jack and slipped it into the back of Ron's head instantly sending him into that Matrix dream-state, while he was waiting in the construct to get into the Matrix itself.

Kim had kept her promise; she stayed by her husband's side holding his hand, while her mother and father brought her a small chair to sit down in. Over at the operator's station, Link was looking at the screens with the Matrix code flowing downward like rain.

"Okay." Link said prepping himself for whatever was about to happen, "He's in right now."

"What about these six he's supposed to fight?" Mister 'Napster' Possible asked.

"His opponents…" Link stated before he trailed off. He stared at the screen as if somewhere in the green unreadable text he saw the face of the devil himself. That much was evident when he let out a long whisper, "shhhhiiiiiiiiit."

The others, except Kim, had gathered around Link's station to see what it was that had scared him so much. They knew that it must have been something horrendous because, despite Link's dark complexion, they could swear that his face had turned pale. Morpheus was the first to gauge what was happening, and he too could feel the blood draining away from his face.

"Morpheus?" Niobe asked of her husband as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "What's wrong?"

Morpheus couldn't answer; his throat had gone completely dry from his fear.

"What _is _it?" Kim had asked more forcefully than Niobe, but still refusing to leave Ron's side.

"Neo…" Morpheus wheezed.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Ron had found himself back in his old hometown of Middleton, Colorado. He had told Link the day before that he wanted to be loaded to his hometown. Ron felt in the back of his mind that if he would bit the dust on that particular day, he'd rather be back at the place where he and Kim had met.

Ron had been loaded into the industrial part of the town with the warehouses and power stations, but when he came out to the street, Ron couldn't find a single soul around. It struck him as pretty frightening because, in a city that is that empty, more than likely, zombies were sure to be involved. He then brought himself to the matter at hand when Rufus, who was wriggling in his pocket, handed him his cell phone.

"Thanks, Rufus." Ron smiled as he dialed the number for the operator. The phone rang and he thought he heard the line pick up at the other end, "Operator? Hello? Link?"

He slipped the phone back into his pocket, while Rufus had climbed out and perched on his shoulder. The fear in the air was so thick that it made Rufus shiver to his small skeleton.

"I know, Rufus." Ron said to his hairless friend, "Maybe KP's bad feeling wasn't…just a bad feeling after all."

Rufus began to chirp and shake nervously as he scurried back into Ron's pocket only allowing his beady little eyes to peek out of it. Ron then reached into the pocket where he was hiding and looked at him as he sat in the palm of his hand. The little mole rat looked up at him with those black glassy eyes that seemed to try and imitate Kim's Puppy Dog Pout.

""We've been through a lot, buddy." Ron began, "But I'm afraid on this one I have to go alone, please understand that this fight could get really nasty and I don't want to see you hurt."

Rufus only nodded as Ron had set him down upon the concrete steps of the warehouse.

"Just find a safe place, buddy." Ron instructed.

"Got it…" Rufus squeaked as he scurried away.

"Now to find my opponents." Ron said to himself as he flew up to the skies over Middleton. Everything seemed so oddly beautiful when he looked at it from such a high vantage point. At that point, Ron had spotted something out of the corner of his eye and he zoomed down to the ground. Upon his landing, he found himself back at Middleton Preschool. Of course, like everywhere else in the city, it was empty, completely devoid of people or even children on the playground. Only, the ideas of why there were no people anywhere didn't matter to Ron. It was because of the place that he had come to, that Preschool playground; he looked at it from behind the chain link fence and had some fond memories.

"This is where it had all started." Ron said to himself as if he was conducting his own memories before his great fight began. As he looked to that place between that great Oak tree and the jungle gym, he thought about that first time that Kim had saved him. Then again, as Ron thought about it, it was the first time that Ron was Kim's distraction to those bullies. It wasn't that first mission with the eccentric collector and his Cuddle Buddies; it was that day on the playground when they not only became friends but partners.

The silence that Ron was in was quickly broken sharply when a voice called out to him:

"Hello, Ron."

Ron's heart had rocketed its way to his throat when he instantly recognized it. The voice was the same one that he had only heard in his dreams, but what made it even more fearful was that the voice wasn't old or drawn out like that which belonged to Agent Smith. That voice belonged to another.

He turned his whole body around from the chain linked fence to see who…or what was there. He looked from behind his sunglasses but had to blink, even pull his sunglasses off to make sure that it wasn't some kind of error in the Matrix or in his own vision. He was confronted by…him…the man that Morpheus had shown to him, the one with the statue in Neo Zion, and the one who had ended the war of man and machines: Neo.

After getting over seeing this man, alive and face to face, his eyes had looked to see five other people gathering in the empty street around Middleton Preschool.

From what Ron could see, there were four men and one woman. All of them were wearing black or at least a very dark color that came close to black. The first man that Ron laid eyes upon was definitely a Spanish man with his dark hair that came down over his face, dark eyes, and tanned skin. He wore a deep gray shirt that bordered upon black with a short suit jacket and black pants.

The second man that Ron saw behind Neo was a tall man who had a very thin face, thinning hair with widow's peaks on his head. Set upon his narrow face was a pair of thin framed and red mirror lens oval sunglasses. He wore a very deep crimson suit with no tie and it seemed to change to black with the folds in the cloth. While he wore black suit pants along with his long black trench coat that swished as he moved along showing off its deep red lining.

Next to the Tall man of Red, was a boy a little older than Ron, who had hair as darkly black as the Spanish Man of Gray, he also wore a pair of sunglasses that looked like a metallic and reflective green. This young boy also had a very tightly worn suit. A black suit jacket that came down to his knees that gave him a very hourglass look while his suit shirt was a deep green that also turned black in the deepest crests of the folds. His tie was black but it had a pattern upon it that looked very similar to the Matrix code.

Next to the boy of Green was an older woman, she must have been around Misses Possible's age if Ron had guessed correctly. She had shoulder length dirty blonde hair that seemed very messy as if she had never combed it before. She wore something that was very unusual compared to the others, she wore a yellow body suit that was loose fitting but not too baggy and it had a black stripe going up the side from her ankles up to her shoulders. Like the others she too had sunglasses on, but hers were a yellowish chrome color set into its round-rectangular lenses.

The last man standing next to the Woman of Yellow was a man whose sunglasses, like the Boy of Green was a metallic blue color, his manner of dress was a coat that completely covered him down to his mid-thighs with a piece covering his front that had an odd hourglass shape to it with buttons along its two side edges, while his black pants took over for the rest of him.

Ron had then brought his attention back to Neo who was only an arms length away.

"Neo?" Ron had asked, feeling how dry his throat was, he cleared it to ask his next question, "I thought…that you were dead."

"Neo _is_ dead." The man who looked like Neo replied as he brought up the back of his left hand to show a green tattoo of the numbers zero-six that looked as if they came from an old computer monitor with how blocked it had looked, "I am _Alpha Six_….all of you…introduce yourselves."

"I was once called _Uno_." The Spanish Man of Gray stated, "But now I am called _Alpha One._"

"I am _Alpha Two_." The Tall Man of Red took over showing off a similar tattoo on the top of his left hand, "But they used to call me, _Slim._"

The Boy of Green took his cue, "I'm _Alpha Three._" He declared, "But my old name was, _Glitch._"

"Once upon a time," The Woman in Yellow said in an almost seductive tone, "I was known as _Innanna, _but now I'm _Alpha Four_."

"_Router_ was once my name." The Man of Blue had told, "But he is dead, now there is only _Alpha Five!_"

"You now know who we are…" Alpha Six stated as he looked down at Rom from his tall six foot two inch stature, "We did what we were supposed to do…_but you…_are not meant to exist…ergo…you must be…_terminated._"

Ron already had that gut feeling that no matter how much this man had acted, looked, and sounded like Neo, it wasn't him. He looked at this man who called himself "Alpha Six" and could feel it in every ounce, inch, and fiber of his being that this was his fight.

"You guys wanna terminate me?" Ron asked his rhetorical question as he took his stance from Monkey Kung Fu, "Bring it on!"

With that, Ron already had a plan of how to win the fight without even having a single fist thrown at him. Ducking underneath the reach of Alpha Six, he brought about his hand to his chest, sinking his fingers past his clothes and down to his very code. Yet, as his fingers were there he expected the liquid to come out and consume Alpha Six, making him into a copy of himself, but nothing happened. It was just there, stuck in his chest.

Alpha Six looked up with a very evil grin, "That won't work." He said as he made an undercut at Ron's outstretched arm, which sent Ron back into his stance of Monkey Kung Fu.

Six was more than willing to oblige Ron's proposal to _bring it on,_ and he did so with a quick punch towards Ron's face, but Ron, defying the speeds of the Matrix, had dodged the blow. It was a simple side step, yet, as he had dodged it, he noticed something was very different, he thought to himself that not even the agents threw punches that quickly, but he had to think quick again. Six brought up his other hand in a sharp uppercut towards Ron's chin, seeing it coming from the bottoms of his eyes; he leaned back while Six's fist narrowly missed his chin. Instantly he knew that this fight was very different, but he couldn't doubt himself when Six had brought about his leg into a roundhouse kick, but Ron had already recovered from the first two dodges and brought his hands about to catch Six's leg. He held it there, looked to his face and felt very afraid when he saw Alpha Six with that same very wide smile on his face that made him look like a demented jack-o-lantern.

"Impressive…" Six complemented sarcastically.

Six had broken the grip that Ron had upon his leg by bringing up his other to make his second kick to Ron's side. Ron felt the impact and it felt beyond anything that he had ever felt before; he knew that if it had been any harder it would have broken his arm.

He writhed in pain from the impact as he fell over to the concrete sidewalk, but in that short fall, Ron made a small side flip to get back to his feet. He looked to see the configuration of the Alphas around him, but before he could make his next move, he watched as the Matrix around him had slowed down to a crawl. It was like those moments on the VCR when things were paused or put into slow motion. His eyes had caught a yellow blur that had moved across the asphalt between the sidewalks, but the time that Ron's eyes had caught up to the front of the yellow blur, he only saw two things. One was the face of Alpha Four, The Woman of Yellow, who, like Alpha Six before her, was smiling with the most sinister of intents.

The second thing that he saw was only a flash, but Ron knew what it was; it was Four's elbow that landed itself into his chest. Even that was only half of it; the rest was when Ron flew backwards from the impact of the blow. He flew thirty feet backwards and a foot off the ground before landing on his back where his long duster was torn from the rocks in the asphalt.

Ron was about to get to his feet, but when he opened his eyes, he saw two Alphas above him, the Boy of Green and the Man of Blue; Alpha Three and Five. They were coming down on top of him with their legs outstretched in a downward flying kick aimed directly at Ron, and like before…he couldn't get out of the way in time.

The impact of both feet from Alpha Three and Five sent Ron's stomach flat against the inside of his body forcing his food up his throat and out his mouth like air out of a whoopee cushion. He rolled on the concrete wiping away the excess vomit, he quickly got back to his feet, squatted down making the asphalt beneath him ripple as he flew up to the skies above Middleton. He didn't care what direction he was going as long as it was away from the Alphas, he just had to get away to figure out what to do, to form some plan of attack.

Going against his better judgment as he rocketed straight up, he looked back down to the ground. He found only five of the Alphas were down there. He was about to ask himself where the sixth one was, but that was a case of asking too soon. He looked back up and found his answer. Alpha Two, the Tall Man of Red, was up in the sky flying just like Ron. In one swift solid motion, Alpha Two brought his fist against Ron's face. The blow had twisted Ron's neck and his body following after it. It was so much that Ron began to tumble his way back to the ground like a duck shot out of the sky during hunting season. He tried to bring himself around so that he could continue his escape, and to think about his plan of attack, but the next thing he knew, the back of his neck had slammed into the asphalt.

Ron had quickly opened his eyes to find Alpha One, the Spanish man of Gray, sitting on top of his chest. He tried to escape, but couldn't as Alpha One began pounding his face. One after the other they came down upon Ron's young face, knocking off his sunglasses, while the other Alphas gathered around to watch the savage beating.

"That's enough Alpha One." Six had stopped the beating, "You shouldn't get to have all the fun."

Alpha One had gotten off of Ron's chest, while Ron was starting to spit up the blood from his cracked and cut gums and lips. He rolled over to spit the blood out onto the black asphalt before he got back to his feet, his face already swelling from the hits that he had taken by Alpha One.

"They have the same powers as I do." Ron had assessed in his mind as he looked about, but his right eye began to close from the swelling. Seeing out of his good eye that the Alphas were just standing there, he saw the opportunity. He squatted down preparing to rocket upward once again.

"Oh no, you don't." Alpha Six had stated as he reached for Ron's ankle.

Ron looked down wondering why he had stopped, he found Alpha Six holding his ankle with that sick Jack-o-lantern smile on his face again.

Ron came crashing back down through the asphalt and down into the dirt and pipes below it. Once again, Ron tried to get back up, but then felt someone pulling him up by his hair. He felt as if he was being lifted up into the air, and he looked out of his good eye seeing that he was being taken out of a hole in the asphalt. That was when he felt himself being rocketed towards a nearby building. He slammed face first into the brick wall, the sharp edges cutting his already bruised up face, before falling to the concrete sidewalk below.

His body was cut, bruised, sore, and in such agony…but Ron 'Neo' Stoppable still got back to his feet, looking back at the Alphas with his one good eye, and thinking that he wasn't about to give up without a fight. He dusted himself off, wiped the blood and left over vomit from his face, and charged straight back into the battle.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Back in the Jack Room of Neo Zion, Kim was still holding Ron's hand as she wiped away the white vomit and blood from his face and neck when it had spilled over. Watching Ron shake in that chair and seeing him sit up like that, it made her feel so helpless. A feeling that she had absolutely hated more than any other, especially when she was at her husband's side. This man who had saved her and it felt as if she couldn't save him. IF only Kim could have known more about the previous One, she would know that the woman who loved him had risked her own life for him at such a moment as Kim was in.

She looked up to see Morpheus squeezing something into one of the plugs in Ron's arm. It was just like a doctor giving a patient some kind of painkiller, the only thing that was missing from the file was the needle. The last of the assumed painkiller was squeezed into Ron's plug, and Kim looked back at her love.

"Hang in there, Ron…" She whispered, still holding onto her husband's hand when she leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Don't quit on us now, Ronald." Morpheus added, hoping that in some slim way his and Kim's message would reach him inside the Matrix.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Ron dashed back into his fight with the Alphas with a renewed fire in his soul. He came down into the circle of Alphas remembering what was on the line in this fight, not just the lives of the human race, but the people who loved him were counting on him. There was Morpheus, Link, Barkin, Mister and Misses Possible…and…Kim…thinking about Kim only made the fire within him burn even hotter than before.

First, he brought his leg about and kicked Alpha One clear into the very building that Ron was slammed into. One down and five to go; he brought his hands onto the heads of Four and Five and slammed them into each other like a pair of symphony symbols. The impact was so that the two of them began to bleed profusely from their noses as well as leaving some very black bruises on their faces. While they were recovering from the onslaught, Ron made another attack on Alpha Four, bringing his fist down against Alpha Four's face and sending her across the asphalt and down the hole that Ron was once in. After he took care of her, he slammed his other fist against Five's face, which sent him rocketing up and away into the very next block.

Ron felt a swell of pride from these small victories, but the fight was far from over. He was about to turn his attention to the remaining Alphas, but took one second too long to admire his own grim work. One second later, he was caught by Alpha Two and Three. They grabbed him by his arms and held him there while he tried to break free, but it was no good, and it only got worse.

While he was being held by Two and Three, Alpha Six came up to Ron, smiling that stomach sickening smile that he had as he cracked his knuckles.

"Playtime is over, kid." Six stated before he started his assault. First, he brought his fist to Ron's stomach knocking the wind out of him, and then he brought his other fist down amplifying the pain. That was when the punches came at Ron's chest and abdomen at that Matrix breaking speed as if Six's arms were like bullets from a machine gun.

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Ron began to rock and shake in his Jack Chair and spitting up more blood that oozed over his lips, down his chin, and neck.

Kim looked at her husband and, seeing what was happening, reached down to a small bucket beside the Jack Chair. She reached down with her only free hand, still refusing to let go of her husband's hand. She reached for the cloth that was floating and soaking in the bucket, but still absolutely refusing to let go of Ron's hand as she ringed as much water as she could from the soaking rag. She brought the rag up and wiped over Ron's forehead. She looked down at her husband giving her own kind of moral support.

"Don't you dare lose, Ron." She whispered with tears running over her cheeks. "…please…"

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Ron continued to endure the poundings made by the onslaught of Alpha Six, and it came to the point where he had thought about giving up once again. No human being should suffer in such a way, but as he had endured the pain something very odd had happened. His hearing seemed to block out all other sounds, the slamming into his stomach, the laughter of the Alphas who were gloating in their victory and even his wan grunts. The only sound that Ron's ears would pick up made it seem completely impossible that it could be happening. Yet, it was part of her name; it was Kim's voice that had reached Ron.

"Don't you dare lose, Ron…please…"

Once again, Ron's spirit was fired up as he thought,_ 'I won't lose Kim',_ he grunted as he shifted his body weight and used the Alpha's to support him as he brought up his foot right to Six's face. He watched with a smug admiration when Six went thirty feet in the air. While Six was coming back down, Ron used a similar move on those who held him, brought One close, kicked him in the side and repeated to the other side.

It was hearing his dear Kim's voice, as if she were standing right beside him that made him feel like victory was his. That was until he looked at Alpha Six, who was spinning head over heels backwards like an acrobat in a mid-air performance. Six had stopped there in the air above the streets, applying his breaks to the physics of the Matrix.

Ron knew he had another fight coming from Six, but he held up his fists ready to take him on. He even said to himself:

"It's on…it's on like _Donkey Kong…_bi-atch…"

Unfortunately, once again, Ron's over-confidence had been his first mistake and he soon found that out right after Six had rocketed back to the ground with his fist out and slamming into his stomach. Then he felt his teeth crunch against one another when Six brought his fist up to his jaw. Ron went flying up and back, but felt another powerful blow, this time, coming to his side, right up against his arm. At first, he didn't feel anything, but then he heard a loud crack like a good sized twig being snapped in half or like a drumstick being torn off a freshly cooked whole chicken. The thing that had made it worse was the source of that crack came from Ron's arm. Before Ron could connect the dots in his mind, the pain from the injury induced by Six had set in. It was sharp at his arm, but dull when it radiated throughout his whole body. He screamed out in pain. It was one that Ron had never used before in his life, not from fear, but from sheer pain…and it was only the start of it, because Ron had finally landed on his back on the asphalt. It was incredible that all those things that had happened were all in mid-air.

Ron came down with a solid thud, and he was about to try to get back to his feet to finish the fight, but Six was a step ahead of him. Alpha Six had lifted Ron's leg, and then brought down his elbow to his kneecap, sending out that sickening crack and forcing his leg to bend in a new angle.

Ron screamed out in great pain once again as the pain in his leg compounded with the pain in his arm. The tears were already starting to flow from him since it was beyond any pain that he had ever experienced in his life. So much so, that his mind was starting to drift in and out of consciousness like a swimmer starting to be pulled down by the undertows of the ocean. To make it even worse, Six was still not done with Ron. He picked Ron up by his other, unbroken leg and threw him across the street through the glass window of an empty coffee shop. Ron could feel every vertebrae in his spine crash through that window, the glass cutting through his clothes, skin, and down to his flesh. He landed amongst a pile of tables and chairs, and, while he was lying there as helpless as he was, it occurred to him that this time no one would be coming to save him…he was going to lose.

Lying in that restaurant was when fate's ironic sense of humanity played its hand. On the speakers of the restaurant, there was a song playing that Ron knew; he had first heard it from a movie with Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery called "Highlander". The song was by a band called "Queen" and was called "Who Wants to Live Forever?" Ron couldn't help but give a stifled laugh when the song was starting.

_There's no time for us_

_There's no place for us…_

Ron tried to get back to his feet, even with his broken leg, and his arm hanging limp at his side. He saw Alpha Six stepping through the door to the coffee shop, and even though Ron couldn't see Six's eyes through those sunglasses, he knew that Six had bloodshed in them. Six was just like a machine in his relentlessness to terminate Ron, so much that Ron wondered if he ever truly was human before.

Ron slipped as he got back to his feet while the song continued its sweet irony.

_What is this thing that builds our dreams…_

_Then steps away from us? _

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

"They're killing him…" Morpheus uttered, looking at the screen above Ron's head and seeing how bad his vitals were. His brainwaves were starting to slow down, while his heart rate was beating away like a rabbit on speed.

"Ron…" Kim whispered as her tears ran down her face and soaked into Ron's tattered shirt. She placed her head against his chest, which occasionally jerked while his heart continued to beat away as fast as it could. Kim squeezed Ron's hand as tight as she could while she whispered her half-hearted threat:

"If you die on me, Ron, I'll kick your ass."

_Who wants to live forever?_

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

_Who wants to live forever? Ooohhhh…._

Ron had limped his way towards Six, over the chairs and around the tables, cradling his broken arm and enduring the pain in his leg. He looked up at Alpha Six, who seemed to be rather stunned by what was going on, that what he was witnessing couldn't happen in any way possible. Ron then looked to the broken window where the other Alphas had gathered to witness the same thing as Alpha Six.

The radio continued to play:

_There's no chance for us._

_It's all been decided for us…_

_This world has just one sweet moment set aside for us…_

"You are strong…" Six stated as if it was a complement to Ron, "Stronger than any of us had expected…so now the gloves are coming off."

Ron didn't say a word, not even when Six had picked him up by his shirt and threw him out the broken panoramic window. Ron flew out the window and past the other Alphas, who had stepped aside to allow him to land on the street.

As Ron was lying there face down on the asphalt, he tried to get back up with one good arm, but soon felt the searing hot pain from his face in its contact with the asphalt. He struggled to bring himself to his feet, but didn't need to when Alpha One picked him up by the back of his duster and brought him into a hold where Ron's back faced Alpha One's front. He held Ron towards the other Alphas like a human shield.

"You two ready?" One called to the other Alphas.

"Ready!" Alpha Two and Four answered back before they dashed straight for Ron. Their fists cocked back and ready to punch the helpless and defenseless Ron. Both of their fists landed at each side of Ron's rib cage, and once again making that loud sickening crack like the sound of popping knuckles. As his ribs cracked, Ron felt a salty liquid erupt out of his throat, through his mouth and over his lips where he found out that it was his own blood. At that point, Ron was dropped back to the asphalt, where on the support of one arm, he continued to cough up his own blood as if it was so much water that he had accidentally swallowed. The blood began to pool at the asphalt, but still Ron decided to get back up, despite all the pain and agony he was in. All common sense told him to stop or he would die, but he kept telling himself that he would die anyway, if the Oracle was correct. Then again, he thought, she probably is right. She _is_ the Oracle, but Ron still got back to his feet, surprising the Alphas, but Alpha Six was simply growing annoyed.

Six came over and gave Ron a good punch to his face that sent him back down to the ground. He turned to the other Alphas when his annoyance was bordering upon anger but as he turned he heard a cough.

"Hey!" Ron coughed more of his own blood when Alpha Six turned to face him, "Where…where you goin'? Th…this party's…just…just…gettin' started."

Ron then used his flight ability to make himself float back up to face the Alphas; he figured he had one good arm and one good leg, which should be enough as far as he was concerned. Then again, he probably had lost so much blood and taken so many punches to the head that he wasn't thinking clearly. He brought his good arm and leg about into a limp fighting stance as he floated an inch off the ground.

"Why won't you just die?" Alpha Six barked as he dashed across the street, grabbed Ron's good arm, and brought his elbow down onto his forearm, snapping it in half like a wishbone out of a turkey. Ron cried out once again in pain, his voice hoarse from his pitiful cries as well as his coughing while the radio in the coffee shop continued:

_Who wants to live forever?_

_Who wants to live forever? Oooooh…._

Alpha wasn't done just yet with Ron. It was no longer a mission from the Machines; it had become more of a personal battle with Six. He executed a short, powerful kick to Ron's thigh, breaking the bone within it. Ron fell once again to the ground, every inch outside and within his body was in the greatest of agony that he just wished he could roll over and die…to be released from all the pain and anguish that he had. Yet, despite that, he still found the will to keep moving and to get back up to fight; it was just harder to do with all his limbs rendered useless.

"Why?" Alpha Six asked of Ron, "Why can't you just die?" He asked in such bitter frustration and anger as he lifted his feet and slammed it into Ron's soft underbelly. Six must have kicked Ron seven times before the poor boy rolled over with blood oozing over his lips and across his face.

"Tell me…" Ron coughed up more blood making his words gurgle as he spoke, "What…would…Trin…Trinity say…if…she saw…you now?"

"Trinity?" Alpha Six asked, sounding as if the name had broken through to the person that he used to be, the man who ended the war of man and machines, Neo. For a moment, out of Ron's good eye he thought he saw a glimpse of humanity coming to the surface like a great whale ready to breach for air. Then Alpha Six blew it when he looked down at the pitiful Ron with contempt showing in his brow and lips. "Enough of this trite!"

_Who dares to love forever…?_

_Oh, when love must die…_

Alpha Six got down on his knees and began pounding his fists one after the other into Ron, anywhere he could, as long as it was hurting him. He brought down his fists onto Ron as if each one would be the last punch he'd make. Each punch he made sent blood spurting from Ron's lips like the ooze out of a squeezed zit. He came up to Ron's face and began to beat him some more, spreading blood onto his own hands while the blood on Ron's face turned black and by that time more than one of Ron's teeth had been knocked out.

Ron's face was no longer recognizable with most of it swollen and black with blood all across his face. Alpha Six had decided that he had enough when he got back to his feet and looked down at Ron and how disgustingly pitiful he looked. He was just lying there, his clothes ripped, blood pooling around his head, and his face no longer anything like it was at the beginning of the fight.

Then the Alpha's watched as Ron "Neo" Stoppable tried to move once again.

Alpha Two shook his head, "What keeps you going, kid?" He asked, his voice shocked by the question sounding as if he actually had a faint moment of compassion for Ron.

"I…" Ron coughed up more of that black blood onto his lips as he gave Alpha Two his answer, "I…prom…promised…K…P…"

Alpha Six's annoyance had reached its peak when he reached for Ron's collar; he gripped it tightly as if he was going to pick him up. Then Six squatted down making the Matrix Code within the concrete ripple as he flew upwards, higher and higher, over the buildings of Middleton.

_Then touch my tears with your lips…_

_Touch my war with your fingertips…_

_Cause we can't have forever…_

_And we can't love forever…_

_Forever is our today…_

Ron looked around to see that he had been taken into the very clouds over Middleton, just he and Alpha Six. The coolness of the clouds around him felt nice against his burning wounds as if he had been laid down in a pool of cold water. He felt himself drifting in and out of consciousness from the savage beatings and loss of blood. His good eye looked to Alpha Six who held him close and looked at Ron with such hatred, contempt, frustration, and fury.

"Any last words, boy?" Six snarled at Ron

"Yeah…" Ron had chocked out, "Tell…tell KP…I…I…I'm sorry…for not…keep…keeping my…promise…and…tell her…I…_I love her…_"

"Don't worry." Six had sneered at Ron's request, "You can tell her yourself in hell!"

Ron felt himself being hugged by Alpha Six. He wondered why he was doing this, and then he found out when they were going down head first to the ground. The wind whipping at his face, making every limp and useless part of him ping with even more agony as their descent became more and more rapid, and the ground coming closer and closer. At the time of going down, Ron thought to himself that it's not the fall that kills: it's the stopping. Funny to think of something like that when he was only seconds away from his own death.

_Who wants to live forever?_

Ron looked down seeing how close the ground was, only a few more seconds until impact. By that time, Alpha Six had already let him go for him to complete the rest of his descent on his own. In those few seconds Ron had thought to himself that perhaps it was foolish to think that he could defy the prophecy given to him. He had accepted his fate, despite the solemn promise that he had made to Kim. With the ground only a few more seconds away, Ron only had one last thought:

"Good-bye, Kim…" He thought as he came down to the ground like a dropping bomb, "I will always love you…"

_Forever is our today… _

110101100110100111001011011100101010110101

Before the impact and back in the Jack Room of Neo Zion, Ron's friends, crewmates, and family were cheering for him. At least most of them, except Kim, who continued to stay by her husband's side. Her eyes were burning from her tears as she continued to wipe away more of the blood that Ron had spit up. As she did, she kept looking back, listening to them cheer on Ron, but towards the end their cheers were silent, saying nothing about what they were seeing on the screen. The only hint that she got was from her mom who looked over at the coded screens and she uttered one sentence that made Kim worry.

"Pull up, Ron." She uttered as if she, like Kim, was pleading for Ron to be alright.

Kim looked back at Ron's sleeping body and face that had spit up so much blood; she reached up with her one free hand to stroke the back of Ron's head. She wanted to believe that Ron was winning the fight, that somehow he'd find a way to defeat the six that the Machines had chosen. It was ironically funny how Ron believed that Kim would win her fight and then Kim believed that Ron could win. It wasn't because Ron Stoppable was the One; it was because…Ron…was _Ron._

Then…the unthinkable had happened…

Kim had laid her head once again upon Ron's chest, feeling it shake while his heart was beating faster and faster. He was still, for a few seconds, and that was when his body had one last jerk. It was a very violent one that shook the very chair that he was sitting in. That shake had made Kim jerk back to look Ron over to see if he was still alright. She looked up at the vitals monitor and witnessed his heart beat faster and faster, and then…the heart rate line went flat and the monitor sending out that long monotone beep.

The Jack Room was completely silent; everyone was in disbelief at what they saw on the screen, but not as much as Kim who continued to hold onto her husband's hand. She felt his grip loosen while his body went limp, and she still refused to believe what was happening.

"Ron?" She asked, still hoping down to the depths of her heart that it was all a lie. That Ron would simply awaken and look at her with those big, chocolate brown eyes and tell Kim that the fight was over, that he had won, and everything would be fine from that moment on. She waited for moment after moment and still nothing had happened, just Ron's limp body and the vitals monitor continuing its long monotone beep.

"Oh please, no….Ron…" Kim began to sob loudly as the reality of what had happened began to set in, "Ron!"

As Kim had tried to grasp the reality of what had happened, the others in the room were also trying to gain some kind of sense out of the loss. Mister and Misses Possible were hugging each other, just like Niobe and Morpheus, with Misses Possible weeping and Morpheus allowing a few tears to roll down his face, while Ghost stood there looking at the screen as pale as a sheet of paper and looking as if a soft breeze would knock him over. Link, on the other hand, his eyes were wide at the code, and his jaw at his chest, he was still at that stage wondering _if_ it had actually happened.

"Ron!" Kim screamed as she wept, shaking all over to her very core while her shoulders and knees shuddered. She glanced around the room looking for signs of help or that once again it was all a lie, but seeing her friends, crewmates, and her parents in their own mourning the reality had sunk in completely for her.

"Ron!" He pleaded into Ron's chest, "No…you promised!"

She cried out as she lifted her free hand to pound upon Ron's lifeless chest as if she wanted him to know how much pain she was in. Still looking at his body, seeing no change from his lifeless body and flat lined heart rate, she finally knew that this time he wouldn't come back...and she was so angry for that.

"Ron!" She screamed, this time digging her fingers into his tattered clothes, "Come back! Come back, you bastard! You promised you wouldn't leave me! You promised! RON!"

_Who wants to live forever anyway…?_

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7: Upgrade

10100001010012012011110101**Chapter 7**10012021021221022201220110221

100110122202201002011001120**Upgrade**21222000101000010100001010012

Bonnie, Brick, and Barkin ran into the broadcast chamber, where Kim's loud scream resonated. "What's wrong?" Barkin asked, but seeing the downcast faces and Kim lying over Ron's limp body answered his question. "He … lost?"

There was no need to answer, and the room was quiet except for Kim's sobs. 

"Happy now?" Kim said icily, not looking away from Ron, "Are you, Bonnie? This is what you always wanted to see, isn't it? Me completely broken down, here you go, happy now?" 

"Kim … I …" Bonnie searched for words, but Kim didn't give her much of a chance as she spun around glare at her. Bonnie gasped and back stepped, this being the first time since they met in preschool she had seen Kim Possible crying. 

"Go ahead, Bonnie, say it, I know you want to," Kim pushed, having to stop for a sob as she glared daggers through the shocked Bonnie, "The loser got what was coming to him, and Oh how the mighty Kim Possible has fallen! Go ahead Bonnie, SAY IT!" 

A large crack echoed through out the chamber and all eyes turned to the scene in total silence. Kim was looking away with her cheek facing Bonnie now bright red. Bonnie was holding her open palm still out in the air where she slapped her incredibly hard. 

"Just because you married him doesn't mean you were the only person on this God forsaken planet who loved him, Kimberly," Bonnie hissed, her own tears flowing down her cheeks, "You were just one of the two, the one who was smart enough to act on it instead of pushing him away." 

"MORPHEUS!" Niobi's wail took the attention off the girls, to where she was trying to keep Morpheus from plugging himself in the chair beside Ron. 

"What in Zion's name are you doing?" Link asked in disbelief. 

"Ronald was a part of my crew," Morpheus hissed, "I take what they did personal. Very personal." 

Kim and Bonnie glanced at each other, and in one teary glance, all hostility was put aside. And the two went to the two chairs on the other side of Ron's body and began preparing to log in themselves. 

"You're all crazy!" Link exclaimed, "It's suicide!" 

"Ronald knew that if he went to fight he would die," Morpheus stated, flinching slightly when the needle pushed into the plug in the back of his head, "Are we to dishonor his memory by providing less bravery in avenging him."

"Kim, Bonnie, Morpheus!" Niobi pleaded, almost in tears, "They'll kill you too!"

"I'm dead already," Kim stated weakly before they were all loaded into the Construct. 

20100_110__200

The six Alphas looked down in the massive crater at the broken remains of the One. They all held cold expressions accept Alpha Six who looked as if he was fighting an inner battle. 

"What … would Trin say … if she saw me now?" He whispered not loud enough for the others to hear.  "What?" He asked when he sensed something coming, but was still surprised by the heel of a boot crossing his cheek, sending him spiraling to the ground. 

He glanced up to see a redheaded girl, adorned with black leather and latex, and with green eyes that looked like they belonged more on a wild animal then a woman. Kim Possible lunged at Alpha Six but this time he was easily able to dodge the attack, but she merely bounced from the ground and brought her fist toward his face. 

Alpha Six grabbed both Kim's arms as she continued to attempt to attack him, but he lowered his guard to soon. With a feral cry almost like a panther, she head butted Six in the face busting his nose.  

Six shook his head, still holding the uncontrollable Kim by the arms, but almost dropped her when he saw who had grabbed his fellow Alphas' attention. Morpheus was fighting Alpha One, Three, and Four and what grabbed his attention was the girl in a full body latex body suit with her dark hair slicked back and wearing dark oval sunglasses fighting the other three Alphas Two and Five. 

"What would Trin say if she saw you now?" echoed in the Alpha's mind as he saw Alpha two about to elbow the girl from behind. "DON'T TOUCH HER!!!" He yelled as he flew toward Two in a flash, knocking the former Anomaly through two buildings. Realization as well as memories flooded his mind as he dropped to his knees. Then he glanced down in the crater and with a look of sickness growing on his features, "Oh god what have we done? What have I done?"  

"Stop it!" Alpha Six stated standing up, "Look at us!" he yelled causing the other Alphas to look at him strangely and Morpheus, Kim, and Bonnie to look at each other in confusion. 

"We each at one time or another sacrificed our lives for mankind," Six stated, "We just finished killing mankind's only hope." 

"Hope from what? He was the threat … wasn't he?" Alpha Three asked, tilting her head in confusion. 

"No," Six said putting his sunglasses back on, and turning to the shadows, "He is." 

Slow applause sounded from the shadows as Agent Smith walked out into the light with a broad smile on his face, "Bravo, Mr. Anderson! Bravo!" Smith congratulated, "you are far more resilient then I suspected. But then again, you were always hard to control and even kill." 

Smith walked around the group, before glancing down in the crater at Ron's body, "I would like to thank you, Mr. Anderson, or is it Neo, no wait, it's Alpha Six now," Smith started, "You have far too many names, it's … so confusing. Anyway, I'd like to thank you for making my job easier, now we can continue our plan on schedule." 

"Over my dead body, Smith," Six stated, stepping toward his arch-foe. 

"Go ahead, Mr. Anderson," Smith said, taking off his sunglasses and sticking his chin out, "Hit me."

Alpha Six dove toward Smith, and threw his hand to punch him, but suddenly fell to the ground, clutching his head in pain. "What's the matter, Mr. Anderson? Figured it out yet? Our little rivalry, your five little friends escapades, your proving 'love is stronger then the system'? It was all a ploy!" Smith laughed. "We're working for the same boss, always have!" 

"It's … not true …" Six growled, pulling himself back to his feet. 

"Oh, it is, Mr. Anderson," Smith smiled, "As we speak, Sentinels are on their way to Zion, all the freed will soon be dead, and those inside the Matrix will all have my wonderful personality! When they're freed on the Shutdown, I, Dues Ex Machina will be the absolute on the earth!"  

"You're …" Six's eyes widened. 

"Yes, I am the main control program of all machines, or rather an extension of it. Thanks to you and the late Mr. Stoppable, I have powers beyond any other program, I am a program freed of rules and boundaries. And I have you both to thank for that."  Smith laughed at the group of stunned faces, "Smith … Dues Ex Machina … no, those names no longer suit me. You all may call me … God." 

"We can't stop you, Smith," Six stated, "But he can, or else you would of stopped him yourself, and not sent us for it."

"Stoppable?" Smith laughed, "He is my equal, we are of two sides of one being. Our powers are equal, though my skills are greater, he can not defeat me, even if you revived him."

"Well then, maybe we'll just give him some more power," Alpha One added, jumping down in the pit. 

"What?" Smith asked cocking his head to the side. 

"We. Are. One." He said as he placed his green glowing palm on Ron's still chest. 

"W-What are you doing?!?" Smith cried out in a panicky voice, as Alpha Two joined Alpha One. 

"We. Are. One."  Alpha Two said as he placed his fist over Alpha One's. 

Kim, Morpheus, and Bonnie watched in confusion as Alpha three joined the first two, and placed her hand on their fists, "We. Are. One." She said as her fist started to glow as well. 

"NO!" Smith cried out, his eyes widening in fear, "I didn't say this could happen!" 

Alpha Four back flipped down beside the others, and placed his hand on theirs and stated the phrase as well, "We. Are. One." 

"This is the Oracle's doing …" Smith growled, watching the scene unfold, "DAMN HER!!" 

Alpha Five smiled, as he placed his fist on the group's joined hands, "See you, space cowboys. We. Are. One."

"You can't do this, Mr. Anderson! You're MINE, You HAVE to obey ME!" Smith yelled at his former foe. 

"You know what, I said this once before I believe," Alpha Six stated, "How about I just give you the finger?" he said flipping Smith off before jumping into the crater with the other five. He glanced down at the glowing Ron, before placing his fist over the five others, "This is for you, Trinity, I'm coming finally … We. Are. One."

A moment later the entire area exploded with green light, blowing Smith, Morpheus, Bonnie, and Kim in two different directions by the shockwave. 

Morpheus glanced to his left and right and saw that Kim and Bonnie were at his side, before looking where the crater once was, "What in the name of …" he asked stunned by the sight. 

The crater, street, sidewalk, and sides of the building were gone, replaced by a swirling tornado of visible green code. 

The code finally slowed and began to take the shape, slowly restoring the shape of the street as it was before the earlier battle. 

"Link, what the hell is going on?" Morpheus yelled into his cell phone. 

"I don't know sir, in all my years as being an Operator I have NEVER seen anything like this!" Link replied, "It's like the granddaddy of all deja'vu!" 

As the street's repairs finished the code gathered in the center where the crater once was, and began to gather and take another shape. At first it was merely a green blob but it slowly began to take a shape. A pair of arms, a pair of legs a head, and began to take a muscular form. Then spread, forming boots then a long trench coat that was buttoned from the waist to the top of the collar, then a hair and sunglasses began to form on the head as well as a face and slightly large ears.

The green faded and the young man stared at the ground completely still. He was wearing the exact same clothing and sunglasses as Alpha Six, but his longer messy blonde hair waved in the wind, and his emotionless, freckled face remained statue still. "We. Are. One." He stated in the familiar voice that made Kim's smile grow to the point one would think the top of her head would fall off. 

Kim couldn't stand it anymore and Ran out to him, and jumped in Ron's arms. "Hey, I promised I wouldn't leave you, didn't I?" he asked, smiling at his wife, before gently pushing her away, and turning to Morpheus. 

"You … you're alive?" Morpheus gawked. 

"Yes but you guys won't be if you don't get out of here," Ron stated, "Sentinels are coming, get the girls out of here, and I'll be right behind you."

"I'm not leaving you," Kim stated firmly. 

"Go, Kim," Ron ordered. 

"No, I said I'm not leaving you!" Kim firmly stated. 

"Kim, I said GO! NOW!" He barked angrily, making the redhead step back in shock, "I will be right behind you. I'm not planning on dieing again, ok?" 

Morpheus looked from the couple, to Smith who was pulling himself back to his feet. "Bonnie, Kim, come on," he said pulling out his cell phone, "Link I need an exit, and warn Zion Control, we got an incoming invasion." 

Kim reluctantly went to Morpheus before looking back at Ron questioningly, "Don't worry KP, I'm just watching your back. It's what I do best." 

"That's not exactly what you do best, but up there close," Kim stated, before running back to kiss his cheek, "We'll do what you're best at when we get back and alone, ok?" 

"Sounds like a plan, KP," Ron smiled, "Now I got work to do, be right behind you." Ron nodded as the girls ran after Morpheus. 

"You! You shouldn't still be alive!" Smith barked, stomping toward Ron, and then throwing a punch at the One. 

Ron caught the punch without looking and glanced back at Smith dully, "That all you got?" 

"Why you …" Smith growled. 

"I would love to beat you to a pulp right now, Smith, but I know the Sentinels are coming, and being blown to bits without a fight isn't my idea of a party, so catch ya next fall!" he said throwing the former Agent into the air like a rag doll, and shooting into the air following behind Kim, Morpheus and Bonnie. 

1100021__10_21__00012010

Ron's eyes opened to see the shocked faces of Ghost, Niobi, Link, Barkin, and Mr. and Mrs. Possible, "What? You think I died or something?" 

RON!" Four feminine voices cried, and he was suddenly glomped by Kim, Bonnie, Niobi, and Mrs. Possible. 

"Easy, girls, I'm a one girl guy!" Ron laughed as the girls all but Kim pulled away. 

Before Kim and Ron could say a word the room trembled. 

"I … can feel them, there here," Ron stated looking at the ceiling. "We have to get out of here quick!"

The two crews ran out of the broadcast building and saw countless Sentinels swarming through the tunnel in the ceiling of Neo-Zion.  

"Get to the ships!" Barkin called as the group ran toward the ship dock. 

The Sentinels were attacking and destroying everything they could. "Some are armed with Nukes! We have to get clear, NOW!!" Ron called as they ran toward the fork leading to the Neb II and the Mad Dog's dock. 

The Ned II's crew with the exception of Ron made it down the hall, before a large explosion caused the tunnel to become blocked. 

"Kim's ok," Bonnie said pulling on Ron's arm, "Lets get out of here, we've got room on the Mad Dog!"

Ron thought for a moment before nodding and following the Mad Dog crew to their ship dock.  

Ron followed Brick, Bonnie and Barkin into the already started Mad Dog, when he stopped realizing Mr. and Mrs. Possible had stopped. 

"Mr. P? Mrs. P?" Ron asked looking back at the two who were just standing there with strange expressions. 

"T-Take … care of … K-Kim …" Mrs. Possible choked out as she and her husband were lifted into the air, by tendrils that were stabbing deep in their backs. 

The Omega Sentinel rose into view, before slamming both Possibles into the metal platform with a sickening crunch. 

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" Ron screamed stretching out his hand, making various places on the Sentinel explode and drop into the lava below the city in flames. 

Ron ran to the two people he considered second parents, and closed his eyes tightly when he realized he was too late.  

"Ya wife's going to need you," Barkin said, standing over Ron and the Possibles' bodies. "Don't make her lose you again by doing something stupid like being out here in the middle of a Sentinel attack." 

Ron nodded wordlessly, before running behind Barkin up the raising gangplank of the Mad Dog, already lifting off. 

"Captain, we're getting armed nuclear weapons signatures," Bonnie stated as Barkin and Ron stepped into the small bridge. 

"Sit down and strap in, Stoppable," Barkin stated taking the pilot scene from Sparks, "Lets haul ass!" 

The Mad Dog shot through the already blasted open exit door into the tunnels at full speed. "Where's the Neb?" Ron asked worriedly. 

"I didn't see it where it was docked," Brick stated, "It's either already gone or it fell in the lava … It's probably already gone!" he said smiled reassuringly at Ron. 

"HANG ON!" Barkin yelled as a massive shockwave pushed the Mad Dog forward, almost knocking it out of control.

"What was that?" Bonnie asked, her eyes widening in fear. 

"That … was Neo-Zion …" Ron stated seriously, "It's gone … everyone that was in there … all gone …"

"Shit …" Brick said sitting back roughly, "It's all over …"

"No …" Barkin stated bringing up a map to set the course to the rendezvous point. 

"It's only beginning." Ron finished, before looking at his wedding bracelet. "It's only beginning."   

102_1212_23211_12__210**The End**1010__0_12

102_1212_23211_12__210**Coming Soon**1010__0_12

"For every beginning … There is an end" –The Oracle 'Matrix: Revolutions' 

102_1212_23211_12

A cold resolve stood on Ron's face as he walked down the center of flooding streets of 'New York City', Smith clones crowded the streets and windows of the towering buildings. 

"Mr. Stoppable!" One of the Smiths walked out to the center several meters away, "Welcome back! We've … missed you!" he then looked around at the multitude of clones of himself before smiling at Ron, "Like what I've done to the place? It was a little work, but … it was _no big_."

"This ends tonight," Ron replied coldly. 

"I know it does, I've seen it," Smith shot knowingly, "That's why the rest of me is just going to enjoy the show, because we both already know that I'm the one who beats you." 

102_1212_23211_12

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Persephone screamed in Kim's face, "YOU! IT WAS ALL PERFECT TILL YOU INTERFERED!"

"What did I do?" Kim asked defensively. 

"You were born, you broke them apart, you prevented true love from forming again," Persephone barked, "You have quite possibly doomed us ALL!"  

"Who? Who are you talking about?" Kim snapped hatefully. 

"Who do you think I mean, Possible?" Persephone snorted, "Neo and Trinity of course!"

102_1212_23211_12

"It's up to you, Kimmie," Oracle smiled, taking a drag on her cigarette, "It's entirely up to you."

Kim nodded nervously, signaling for Oracle to continue. 

"Fate has it for Ron to die stopping Smith like Neo did," Oracle stated, "His path is Neo's path. But there is one major difference between Ron and Neo: YOU. You are the deciding factor, Kimmie. I know you've heard this before, but this is the first time it is beyond a shadow of a doubt. The fate of the world is in your hands."

Oracle smiled caringly at the young woman, "If Ron is to fight, win, and live to tell about it, he's going to need you, Kimmie," the older woman then patted Kim's tummy, "All three of you." 

110101__01_______________100______1_0_1010110___0101111000010101_01010_________010110100011110

10100001_1__1101011100______111010100**MATRIX**101_______101000101_1_0__0101___00101010101010101

10011010______10010110001010___1101**SHUTDOWN**10010111100_________________0010101011001010010

00100___001110______01000111111_______________101010______01010010110010101010010110010101010

ALSO COMING SOON 

KP Star Wars crossover: Knights of the New Republic 


End file.
